Eyes Opened
by bentkitty100
Summary: It took some... very odd circumstances, but James Potter has finally won Lily Evans's heart. But can he keep it? Or will someone pull her away? James/Lily. Rated T for language. In-Progress. REVIEWS APPRECIATED!
1. An Epic Failure

Transfiguration was supposed to be James's best subject. But for some reason, his mind was a blank tonight. He was staring at his blank piece of parchment and his book, as he had been for the past five or six - or maybe longer - hours.

It had been a long day for James. Thursdays were the worst days of the week. Only one free period, all of the worst classes - History of Magic, Potions, and Divination - in a row, and two hours of Quidditch practice right after classes were over. Worse yet, tomorrow was the night of the full moon. And if he didn't get this essay done tonight, he wouldn't be able to go with the Marauders to the Shrieking Shack. He had _never_ missed a full moon. _Never_. And to think, not being able to go because of a Transfiguration assignment? Sirius wouldn't stop laughing. And Remus... poor Remus.

James shook his head. He had to focus. This was his best subject! What was wrong with him tonight? He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was nearly two in the morning. In frustration, he banged his hands on the table.

Oops. His glasses and ink bottle fell off the table. He was able to catch the ink, but the glasses weren't so lucky. They fell and broke in multiple places.

"CRAP!" screamed James. And then, in a whisper, "Oh, crap..." Ten Gryffindors were going to yell at him in three... two... one...

Lily Evans came running down the stairs.

_Crap._

"James Daniel Potter, what in Wizard God's name is going on down here?" asked Lily. Somehow she was able to be as stern as Professor McGonagall - or for that matter, herself - while still whispering.

"Got... a little... too angry... at this stupid... goddamn... Transfiguration essay..."

"Okay, that explains the yelling, but what was all of the banging and crashing?"

"I slammed the table, and then my glasses fell and broke."

"Oh, so that's why you're not wearing your glasses. Hang on..." She pulled out her wand. "_Accio Glasses_." James's glasses flew into her hand. She tapped the glasses with her wand. "_Oculus Reparo_." She held out her hand to James. "Better?"

"Thanks, Lily," said James quietly. "You know I stink at charm stuff."

"Yeah, I did," grinned Lily. Then she frowned. "Speaking of which, why are you having trouble with Transfiguration? Isn't that your best subject?"

"Normally, it is," sighed James. "But not tonight. I don't know why, but for some reason I'm completely blank."

Lily looked down at his work. Then she began to laugh.

"What?" asked James. "What's so funny?"

"James, you idiot," laughed Lily. "You're not even looking at the right page! Here." She flipped to the correct page in the book.

James read the chapter title. "Oh... This makes more sense."

"James, were you listening to Professor McGonagall even a little bit today?"

James blushed. "Um... not... really..."

Lily sighed, while rolling her eyes. _Two-for-one there, Lily_, thought James.

"Well, hopefully looking at the right pages will help. I'm guessing it'll take you all of ten minutes, now."

James skimmed over the pages. "Yeah. Thanks, Lily. Again."

Lily turned to leave the room. Then, she looked over her shoulder. "James?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Why no pickup line today?" **(AN: I take no credit for this idea. Please read the blurb at the end of this chapter)**

"Oh, God, I'm sorry, Lily. I was going to, tonight, but with Quidditch practice and my epic failure with this essay... I completely forgot to come up with one. I know how much you like them. Lemme make it up to you, okay? I'll come up with an absolutely amazing one tomorrow, promise. It'll be so great that it'll completely overshadow the lack of one today. Because I know that you look forward to them each day. Don't worry, Lily. I'll fix this for you."

"You really are something, James," said Lily. "Goodnight." She walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

Ten minutes later, James finished his essay, went upstairs, and went to bed. He pulled off his glasses.

They had never looked better.

* * *

**Hello, reader! Thanks for reading the first chapter of Eyes Opened. As I said before, I take no credit for the pickup line idea; the idea (I believe) is a user called Jay's (for some reason, the site won't let me post her pen name). If you go to my profile, the story from which I got the idea is in my favorites list. Thanks!**

**Please review!**


	2. The Face-Plant of Doom

The next day started miserably. James was so tired that he could hardly eat breakfast, let alone pay attention in the first two or three classes. He made it through the first half of the day without passing out, thankfully. Unless you count the beginning of lunch as the first half of the day, that is. He struggled to wake himself up, started to eat, and prepared himself for his next class: Potions. Oh, crap. Of course he had to be in Potions, with Lily, while half asleep. _Could it get any worse?_ James asked himself.

"Okay, class," said Professor Slughorn. "Today we are going to have a little pop quiz. I'd like each of you to attempt to make the Draught of Living Death, _from memory._" The class gasped, and then groaned. Except for Lily, of course. She seemed excited. Oh, and Snivellus, too. Lily and Snivellus. Potions King and Queen.

Yes, it could definitely get worse.

The fumes of sleeping potion alone were making things worse for James. He was already half asleep. Now he was more like... three-quarters of the way asleep. Not to mention, he was terrible at Potions, terrible at memorizing potion recipes, and he was right next to Lily. Who was going to get full marks for this, because she was good, no, _amazing_ at this. And then laugh at James, because of his stupid mistake with the Transfiguration essay that caused him to be this tired and therefore screw up.

James shook his head rapidly. Snap out of it, he told himself. Pulling himself together, he did his best with the potion. Ten minutes before the bell, he had something reasonably like the Draught of Living Death in his cauldron. Putting out the fire, he looked down at his work. Sniffed it to make sure it was right.

Whoops. He had inhaled too many of the fumes. All of a sudden, intense sleepiness washed over him. With a splash, his face fell forward, directly into the cauldron.

As soon as Lily saw James's head in the cauldron of sleeping potion, she rushed over to him and pulled him out. There was some feeling inside her, a feeling that she absolutely had to save James, at all costs.

Naturally, it was too late. The potion had already taken effect. James was completely asleep. Still, silent, he could've been dead.

Lily laid James back against the chair just as Slughorn waddled over.

"What's happened here, Lily?"

"Sir, James must've inhaled too many fumes when he sniffed his potion, because he fell asleep directly into it."

"Oh, dear," said Slughorn. "I'll go take him to the hospital wing." He tried to lift James up, but seeing that he was old, fat, and lazy, his attempts were futile.

"Please, Professor, I can help," said Lily. She flicked her wand. "_Locomotor James_." James rose up into the air, and, guided by Lily, floated into the hospital wing.

Which, by the way, is a most excellent place to take a long, magically induced nap.


	3. In the Hospital Wing

"Wake _up_, Prongs."

"C'mon, Prongs, wake _up_."

"Yeah_, _P-p-prongs, w-w-wake up!"

"Prongs!"

"_Wake up!_"

"_PRONGS!_"

It was late evening, and Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black were all crowded around James's bed in the hospital wing, trying desperately to wake him from his slumber. Nothing worked.

"You could try you-know-what-ing, Wormtail," said Sirius. "Madam Pomfrey is in her office; she isn't paying attention." Peter shook his head vigorously, to which Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered "Chicken."

"Well, I'd probably better go soon," said Remus nervously. "I have... stuff to do."

"It's a shame, really," said Sirius. "Poor Prongs is so fast asleep he can't even think about a certain _girl_, let alone _us_." All three laughed heartily.

"Well, he _could_ be thinking about her," said Remus. "Actually, he probably is. I say that the _real_ shame, for him at least, will be when he wakes up and realizes that he was only dreaming about one of his pickup lines _actually_ _working_."

"While we're on the subject of pickup lines," said Sirius, "I've noticed that not a single attempt to impress Lily Evans has crossed his lips since... since... since _Wednesday_. It's a _record_!"

"Call the books." The three boys jumped simultaneously, and then turned around to see who had interjected.

"How is he?" asked Lily as she walked over to James's bedside.

"Asleep," said Sirius in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"I wonder why," said Lily. "Hmmm... It couldn't have been that he was up until two this morning trying to do a Transfiguration essay while looking at the wrong pages, so when he went to Potions today, he was so tired that he inhaled too many fumes and did a face-plant in his own sleeping potion. _That_ would be _ridiculous_." Finally Sirius got to laugh. Curse those rules about not laughing at your own joke.

"Well, anyway," said Lily, "I brewed the antidote to the potion. I think I got it right." She pulled a little bottle out of her pocket.

"Um, are there any consequences if you got it wrong?" asked Remus

"Not major ones, nothing I can't cure easily. Besides, I followed the book's instructions to the letter and I met all of the milestones I was supposed to. And it's supposed to look like this at the end." She motioned to the potion inside. Unlike the clear-as-water sleeping potion, this potion was black as the night.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's wake him up!" Sirius was obviously very impatient to see his friend.

"All right," said Lily. "Three drops should do it." She opened the bottle and poured three drops of the inky black potion into James's mouth. "It takes twenty seconds to work.

* * *

It was probably the longest twenty seconds of Lily's life. She had been nervous as soon as she had opened the bottle. She could hardly close it, for her hands were shaking uncontrollably. With every breath she took in those twenty seconds, she was praying, _please let this work, please let this work_, over and over. She watched James in a way she never had before: a combination of concern, nervousness, anticipation... and love. For it was in these seconds that she realized why she had pulled him out of his cauldron, brought him into the hospital wing, brewed him the antidote: She loved him. She really, truly did.

And just as she was forming this thought, this realization of her love for James Potter, she was overcome by this desperate urge to wake him up. _The twenty seconds must be almost up_, she thought. She bent down, pulled back his raven-black hair, and whispered into his ear...


	4. Finally and Finally

"James, please wake up," was the first thing that James could hear. Soft, sweet, melodic. Lily Evans. A rush of joy flowed through every inch of his body, the rush of joy he felt every time Lily spoke to him. _I suppose my eyes are closed_, he thought, _because I can't see her beautiful face._ His eyes flew open.

"Oh, thank Wizard God," said Lily.

James took in his surroundings. He was in the hospital wing. Lily was kneeling right by his face, and all of his friends were standing around him, looking very, very relieved. And then he looked up at the ceiling. The sky was getting dark. Uh-oh...

James tried to pull himself out of bed. But Lily stopped him.

"What the spell, Evans?"

Gently, but pointedly, she laid him back down in the bed. "You still have sleeping potion in your system. And _strong_ sleeping potion at that. We gave you an antidote, and that cures the worst of it, but you still aren't stable enough to walk around." Great. Just great.

Thankfully, Remus caught his drift. "Well, if you don't mind, I've got some _stuff_ to do. And I'm pretty sure none of these guys did their homework. Sorry, Prongs." All three Marauders headed for the door. "You coming, Evans?" asked Remus.

"No, I'll keep him company. But someone be ready to get me to the asylum, because Potter may drive me insane." The others laughed. James didn't. He was too ecstatic to laugh.

"You really don't have to, Lily," said James, knowing that this would make Lily want to stay with him even more.

"Yes, I do," said Lily gently. "I don't want you to be in here alone." James grinned, only to hear her say, with a mischievous twinkle in her emerald-green eyes, "Because if I leave you here alone, Wizard God knows what crazy thing you'll do."

"Hey!" laughed James. "Well, bye guys. See you later. Oh, and Padfoot, can I ask you something real quick?"

"Sure," said Sirius, walking over to James's bedside.

"What do you call me? Like, if you're talking to me."

Sirius was confused. "Um... Prongs, normally."

"Thought so. Okay, that's all." Sirius left the room, perplexed.

"And how about you, Lily? What do you call me?"

"James. That's your name. Or Potter, if you're being a pain."

"Yeah... I'm not sure I like that. I want you to call me something different."

"Well, I'm not going to call you Prongs. That would be weird."

"No, I don't want you to call me Prongs. That's not quite right."

"Okay, than what? I could call you butthead. Or toerag. Or-"

"No, no, none of those are right... I want you to call me... _tonight_."

Lily had no choice but to laugh. "Did you just come up with that one?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, keep coming up with them on the spot," said Lily, smiling. "Because that was the best one yet, for Muggle humor alone, not to mention the fact that I had no clue what you were up to until the punch line. You _are_ getting better, James." She paused. "Oh, and that totally makes up for the lack of a pickup line yesterday."

"Thanks, Lily," said James quietly. "Be honest, am I _any_ closer to winning you over?"

"Well, I'm not going to call you tonight," said Lily. James's face fell. "I'm going to call you _right now_. I just can't wait." She pretended to pick up a phone and dial a number.

James waited three seconds, then picked up his pretend-phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, James. It's Lily."

"Oh... hi, Lily."

"Um... well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeers with me tomorrow night."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah. So, meet in the common room at eight?"

"Yeah. Eight o'clock for butterbeers on me."

"James, you don't-"

"Oh, no, Lily," said James, grinning. "A gentleman _always_ pays for the first date."

"_Well_," said Lily. "I guess that settles it then."

"Are you not going to say anything about my calling this a date?"

"Well, no," said Lily. "Because if I didn't want this to be a date, I wouldn't have called."

"_Well_," said James in an identical tone to the one that Lily had used earlier. "I guess _that_ settles it then."

Lily put down her pretend phone. "I guess it does, James."

James put down his phone as well. "Lily... Oh, Lily. I... I..."

"You what, James?"

"I've never, ever been happier in my entire life."

Lily paused for a moment. "Neither have I."

James's eyes popped in surprise. "You haven't?"

"Of course I haven't," said Lily. "My antidote worked."

"_Your_ antidote?" asked James.

"Yes, my antidote," said Lily.

"So you saved my life..." Lily nodded, shyly. "Oh, Lily... Thank you..." That was all James was able to say. Lily Evans, the love of his life, had saved his life... He didn't even care that Lily's joy came from her antidote and not the recently planned date. Lily had saved his life.

Lily touched his hand, very, very gently. "Thank _you_, James. Thank you for... for everything. I don't know what I'd ever do without you." She kissed his cheek. "You should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"More like big night tomorrow," grinned James.

"No, big day," said Lily. Her emerald eyes gleamed. "You have a Quidditch game tomorrow, remember? Against Ravenclaw. You know, the one where if you win, you'll be in the Quidditch Cup finals?"

"Wait... What? I thought that was next week! Seriously?" James was clearly freaked out. His raven-black hair was wilder than ever.

"Gotcha!" Lily laughed, her sweet, tinkling laugh. She turned around, her fiery hair flowing down her back in a glossy curtain, and walked away. Just as she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder. "Sweet dreams, James," she said, leaving James with the sweet feeling of her lips lingering on his cheek.


	5. Girl Talk

"Password, please," said the Fat Lady.

"Verba bona," replied Lily. The Fat Lady swung open. Lily climbed through the portrait hole, to find her four best friends, Mary, Alana, Katherine, and Grace, in the common room.

"Lily!" called Alana. "How'd it go?"

Lily walked over to an empty chair. "Eight o'clock, tomorrow night, Three Broomsticks." A cheer erupted from all four girls in the common room.

Mary: "You go, Lily!"

Katherine: "Way to _be_."

Alana: "James and Lily, sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

"Whoa, slow down, guys," said Grace, the least excitable of the group. "Don't overwhelm the girl."

"Thanks, Grace," said Lily.

"_So_, how did it happen?" asked Alana.

"I took advantage of his first-ever good pickup line."

"How did you manage to do that? And more importantly, since when does James Potter do _good _pickup lines?"

Lily filled them in, on everything.

"Niiiiice," said Katherine. "So, what's your plan?"

"My... plan?"

"Your look for the date, duh! Clothes, hair-"

"Oh... I haven't thought about anything yet..."

"Don't worry, Lily, we gotcha covered," said Mary. "I'm thinking wavy hair. James loves your hair now; just wait till he sees it wavy."

"Um... how do you make it wavy? My hair is straight. Is there like a spell or-"

"No, no. Wizard God, you know _nothing_ about this stuff, do you? Here's what you do. You take a shower tomorrow morning, and then we put a whole bunch of braids in your hair. Then, you take them out right before date time, and voila! Wavy hair."

"Oh... Oh. Okay. Yeah."

"Oh, _Lily_," sighed Alana. "All right, well, we better figure out what you're gonna _wear_. Because trust me, the first-date outfit is super important."

For the next ten minutes, the other girls chitchatted about Lily's date outfit. Lily just pretended to listen, because in all honesty, she couldn't care less.

"Girls, I _really_ appreciate all of your help, but... I really need to get to bed..." Without waiting for another word, she walked up the stairs to the dormitory.

_Who knew a date would be this hard? _she wondered.


	6. Celebration and Levitation

James woke up the next morning in the hospital wing. He had had the best dream of his life, in which he kissed Lily Evans... at their wedding. He still could see the bride-Lily in his mind's eye, in a beautiful white dress that only made her vibrant features more beautiful.

It would be a major understatement to say that he was excited for this date. Finally, after all these years of hard work and bad pickup lines, _finally_, he had won the heart of Lily Evans, the love of his life, the girl of his dreams. Lily Evans. Lily. He couldn't stop thinking about her, her hair, her eyes, her voice, her laugh, the way she glided across the floor instead of walking. And most of all, over and over again, the way she had saved his life.

He couldn't wait to see her. Therefore, he wouldn't.

In a flash, he was back in the Gryffindor common room, which was full of people. As soon as he walked in, the room fell silent.

"HE'S ALIIIIIIIVE!" shouted a random Gryffindor. All of the Gryffindor kids ran to surround him.

"Guys, chill out," said James. "It was a _sleeping_ potion. It couldn't have killed me if it tried. I mean, maybe I would sleep for a reasonably long amount of time, possibly missing the Quidditch Cup semi-final against Ravenclaw - which is _NEXT WEEK_, despite anything Lily Evans tells you - but I would still technically be alive. Just not... awake. Oh... and speaking of Lily..." He moved through the crowd to where she was sitting quietly, and, much to her surprise, flicked his wand, lifting her into the air. "If it weren't for this genius, I would still be asleep!" The kids all cheered as James walked over to the Marauders, leaving Lily high in the air, while the rest of the students were chanting her name.

"James!" Lily tried to float over towards James, but she couldn't. It took three more yells of "James!" to get James to magically bring her over to him. "James, did you _seriously, honestly_ have to do that?" Lily asked as she began hovering directly above James's head. "Part of my thing is, you know, _not drawing attention to myself_."

"Lily, you're too amazing, beautiful, clever, and... just all-around perfect... to hide in the shadows. You deserve the spotlight." James twirled his wand, breaking the spell and causing Lily to fall right into his lap. "And I'll be right there in the spotlight with you."

James placed Lily on the couch as he stood up. "All right, all of you - haven't you better things to do than make each other's eardrums burst?" With that, all of the kids dispersed, except for the Marauders, Lily, and her four friends.

"Well, that was... um... interesting," said Lily. "Oh, Wizard God help me, the girls are at it again. See you later, James. Wish me luck."

"Bye, Lily," said James. "Um... what do you need luck for? I swiped some of Slughorn's Felix Felices earlier, if you need it."

"This is one of those situations where luck potion doesn't do squat. It's one of those situations where my friends prove that somehow, I'm not a 'normal girl'."

"Well, you're not a 'normal girl'," said James. "You're an _extraordinary_ one." He touched Lily's hand. "If those girls bug you too much..."

"Yes...?" asked Lily.

"... you'd probably best stay with them. I'd probably bug you _more_." He winked at Lily.

"Probably right," said Lily. She walked off, her hair shimmering as usual, and went to join her friends.

It was then that James realized that he had _no _idea what to do on a date.

* * *

"Aw, you'll be fine," said Sirius. "I mean, you may have to slip a love potion in her butterbeer to get her to ever go out with you again, but you should be okay. She asked you out, right? She must like you, because I don't see her as someone who'd just go out with anyone."

"Don't worry about it," said Remus. "And don't _try_ to impress her. That, as we know, doesn't work. Most importantly, _no_ pickup lines."

"Dude, you think I don't know that? Seriously?"

"Well... you should've known that... like a year ago," said Remus.

"Hey, she said my last one was good! My best one yet!"

"Yeah, your best one yet," said Sirius. "That doesn't say a whole lot, judging by your other pickup lines."

"Well, whatever," said James. "It's gonna be a good night, that's for sure."


	7. Nervousness

At 7:55 p.m. exactly, James Potter slowly and nervously descended the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. The room was completely empty. Everyone was already in Hogsmeade, probably. Which was a good thing. James wanted to be alone with Lily for as long as humanly possible.

James's legs were shaking so wildly that he felt as if someone shot a Jelly-Legs Jinx at him. He collapsed into a chair, and tried to settle himself. Every inch of him was trembling. He was worried that he would do something stupid, something that would make Lily get mad at him. His stomach began turning. _Oh, Wizard God, don't throw up_, thought James. For the first time, his clothes were spotless and his hair combed. Yes. Combed. Really. Another way to prove how truly in love James was with Lily: he would comb his hair for her, no matter how much the Marauders laughed. Which was a lot.

But all of the hard work he put in and teasing he suffered would go to waste if he puked on himself.

James looked at his watch. 7:58. Two minutes to go. Lily was always punctual. James was sure that at _exactly_ 8pm, she would be descending the stairs. Not a minute before, not a minute after. On the dot.

James gripped his wand tightly, in an attempt to soothe his nerves. He had never been this freaked out before. Who knew that the most terrifying moment of his life would be right before his first date with the girl of his dreams?

That was it. Calming himself would be easy; all he had to do was think of her. That always helped him feel better. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and called forward an image of Lily. Not really any specific moment, just sort of a picture of her. He saw her face in his head, her smile, her laugh, her eyes, everything about her, and immediately his muscles relaxed. He held onto this image until he was completely calm and relaxed, and then he slowly opened his eyes.

The timing was perfect. At that moment, Lily Evans began walking down the stairs.


	8. Starstruck, Shiver, Silence

For a moment, James lost his breath. Lily had always been beautiful, but tonight... she was _stunning_. Instead of her usual Hogwarts uniform, she was wearing a slightly shimmery top that matched her eyes _exactly_. Her hair was in waves down her back, instead of straight (how did she pull that off?). James had never been so taken back in his life.

"Lily..." said James quietly. "I... I... I'm speechless."

Lily smiled. "Well, that's a shame, because that's the whole reason I asked you out. To talk to you. So, if you've lost your voice..." She headed back up the stairs.

"Lily! Wait! Come back!" James tried to chase her up the stairs. It was after he stepped up that he realized his mistake. The stairs turned into a slide, and he found himself falling backwards down, landing on his stomach.

Lily slid down, laughing, stopping herself just in time to keep from hitting James's face. "Oh, James," she said as she helped him up. "You really are as thickheaded as ever."

"Hey!" James said, with a look of mock anger on his face, which then changed to the "I'm about to say something clever" look that Lily knew well. "If I were thickheaded, you wouldn't have asked me out. You're too smart to like an idiot."

"Touche," said Lily. "Well, are we going to Hogsmeade or not?"

"We are, but first..." James pulled out his wand. "_Orchideous._" A little bouquet of pure white lilies appeared from his wand and fell into his other hand. He held them out.

"Lilies for my Lily," he said, bowing slightly.

Lily rolled her eyes as she took the flowers. "And the cheesiness begins."

"Yes, and it will continue," said James. "I promise you that there will be plenty of cheesiness to come." He held out his hand to Lily.

"Oh, joy," sighed Lily as she took James's hand. "Just what I wanted. An entire evening of James Potter at his cheesiest. This'll be _great_." And together, they walked out of the common room.

* * *

Despite the fact that it was the middle of spring, Lily regretted not bringing a sweater. Thank Wizard God she was wearing jeans, and not shorts. Hopefully the Three Broomsticks would be warmer. She hated having to let go of James's hand, but she was freezing. She let go, and rubbed her arms to keep herself warm.

"Cold?" asked James. Lily nodded. "Well, we're almost there," he said. "Here." He put his arm around Lily, pulling her in closer to him. Somehow, James was always warm and just being near him made her feel better.

"Thanks," said Lily. She wanted to talk to James, but she didn't know what to say. James wasn't talking either. She figured that this walk was sort of meant to be quiet. It was nice, anyhow. Just being with James, his arm around her. She liked it that way.

* * *

In about five minutes, the couple had arrived at the Three Broomsticks. "There you go," said James as he opened the door. The area was pretty crowded, but James and Lily managed to find themselves a table.

"You wait here, Lily," said James. "I'll go get the drinks." He went up to the counter.

But before he got in line, he heard someone call, "Prongs!"

James turned around to see all three Marauders at another table.

"Not now, guys." James sighed. Just like his friends, trying to screw up his date.

"No, Prongs, get over here. We already bought you two drinks," said Sirius.

"Seriously?" asked James as he made his way over to the table.

"Yeah, and free refill tokens. Just pay me back later."

"Padfoot, you're amazing." He took the drinks back over to Lily.

"That was fast," she said, smiling.

"I didn't want to miss a moment with you," James said, smiling back. He raised his glass. "Cheers. To the start of our relationship. I hope it lasts forever, because I love you, Lily. I'm not afraid to admit it. I love you."

Lily raised her glass, too, and while she did love James, she decided to play things cool. "Well, as incredibly sweet as that is, I'm not sure I _could_ be with you forever. You'd drive me insane."

"Exactly," said James. "That's my job. And you better get used to it."


	9. Cheesy Wizard Humor

"So... Lily..." James had a clever idea in his mind, but he didn't know quite how to start it.

"Yes?" asked Lily. She figured that James was trying to make small talk, but was failing miserably. Oh, how wrong she was.

"Y'know that Stupefy spell we learned last week?"

"Wizard God, did you _seriously_ have to mention those, James? I normally love learning new spells, but that Stupefy thing is practically impossible! I hate it! Makes me want to snap my wand in half every time I try!"

"Well, I think you're good. Better than I am, for sure."

"What? Really? I'm horrible at it!"

"Well, I can only speak from personal experience, but-"

"What do you mean? I've never practiced the spell on you."

"Oh, you thought I meant the spell? You don't need it. Just wear that top, and you're Stunning."

Lily smacked her forehead. "Ugh! How the _heck_ did I fall for that?"

"Well, I impressed you with Muggle humor, so I wanted to try my hand at wizard humor."

_Two can play at this game_, thought Lily. "Merlin's pants! I should have known you were going to... Ergh! Now I _really_ want to snap my wand in half." Lily sighed. "But I can't. Willow wands bend; they don't break." She pulled out her wand to show James.

"May I?" Lily handed him the wand carefully. James turned it in his hand. "It's beautiful. Actually, scratch that. It's _exquisite_. _Stunning. Magnificent_. Like you." He handed the wand back to Lily, very carefully. "What's its core?

"Unicorn hair," Lily said as she put the wand back in her bag. "Can I see yours?"

"Sure," said James. He pulled his wand out of the belt loop he had magically shrunk to hold it snugly.

"Clever belt loop idea," said Lily. She held the wand. "What is it made of?"

"Mahogany and phoenix feather."

"It's beautiful."

"You cut me off. I was going to say 'Otherwise known as Lily's hair and phoenix feather.' So yes, it is beautiful."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Anyway, as important as it is to know what your wand is made of, I'd like to know what Mr. Ollivander said about your wand."

"Well, for the most part, he was stage-whispering '_The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter_," said James, the last part a perfect imitation of Ollivander's voice. "But he also said that it was good for transfiguration."

"Perfectly suited to you," said Lily. "Transfiguration is your best subject - assuming you're looking at the right pages."

"You have no-"

"And, more importantly," Lily interrupted, "you transfigured me."

"What?" asked James, glad that Lily wasn't near discovering that he was an Animagus.

"You transfigured me, my eyes. I changed from seeing you as an arrogant, bullying toerag to seeing you as the kind, clever, confident, loving James that I know and lo-nearly lost to sleeping potion." _Phew. That was close. Good cover, Lily._

"Oh... Lily... That was... so sweet... Thank you, Lily." James was close to tears. He had never expected hearing such a thing.

"James, are you crying? Oh, James, please don't cry." Lily's eyes were full of sweetness and caring.

"No, I'm not crying. What did Mr. Ollivander say about your wand?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Lily caught on. "He said it was good for Charms. Which isn't my best subject, but there isn't all that much wandwork in Potions."

"Aw, you don't need a wand for Charms, Lily. Your first charm ever was the most powerful, and it was completely wandless."

"What charm are you talking about?"

"The one you cast on me, the first day of first year."

"Wizard God, how do I keep falling for these?!" Lily enjoyed the cheesy-yet-sweet compliments, but she wished she could tell better when James was about to drop one.

"I have no clue, Lily. Hey, do you want another butterbeer?"

"Actually, I'd kinda like to go back to the castle," said Lily. "It's so loud here, and it would be so much nicer back at school. I could get a sweater from my room, and we could go down to the lake. Besides... I don't like having more than one butterbeer..."

"All right, Lily. Whatever you want. Let's go." He stood up, pulled Lily's chair out, and helped her up. "Would you like to borrow my jacket for the walk back?"

"No, James, it's fine. You keep it. I don't want you to get cold."

"Lily, you were freezing on the walk there. It's probably a good deal colder now. I'll be fine."

"James-"

"I insist." He helped Lily out of the chair, and put his jacket around her.

"Oh, James... It's the loveliest, warmest, coziest, most comfortable jacket I've worn in my entire life! Thank you."

"Anything for you, Lily," he said gently, wrapping his arm around her. "Let's go back to the castle."

* * *

**OKAY FINE! I stole that jacket thing from Jay, too. OMG why can't I come up with creative flirting ideas? Wizard God (has anyone else noticed the Starkid humor?)... Must be because I've only had a romantic partner once, and... well... I was never good at the flirting thing. Anyway, I PROMISE that soon, this story will take a turn for the Katie :) (Katie is my Internet pseudonym, btw...)**

_**Imperio! **_**You will review this story...**


	10. Insomnia

Two hours later, James lay in his bed in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, unable to sleep. It had been an amazing night. After they got back to Hogwarts, Lily went to get a sweater, so she wouldn't have to continue borrowing James's jacket (although she had said before doing so that she wished she had a jacket like that. Note to self: Get her one for her birthday), and then they went down to the lake, where they spent an hour and a half laughing and talking and sometimes just being silent and watching the reflection of the stars in the water. They also showed each other their Patronuses, and after seeing that they were a stag and a doe, James proclaimed that they were meant to be together forever. This got a classic Lily Evans eye-roll, and then they proceeded to cast Patronuses together. The stars, and the lake, and the black sky, and the silver-white glow of the Patronuses created a scene that was absolutely beautiful.

James wanted desperately to cast some sort of spell that would impress Lily, conjure some present for her out of thin air, but all he really could do was make her lilies. Which she liked. He wove them into her hair. He plucked the flowers off and tossed them into the lake, where they floated in the star-and-Patronus light. Lily asked him for a hundred lilies, and after James made them for her, she announced that it was time for "The Lily Show, Pun Intended" and proceeded to charm the lilies in a number of ways. They sang, and danced, and changed colors, and glowed. To end the show, she sent all one hundred flowers spiraling up into the air, where they formed a heart and then, with a flash of light, vanished.

Lilies and Lily swirled around in his head. He couldn't shake them long enough to fall asleep. He tried to calm down, imagine peaceful Lily, quiet Lily, anything that wasn't so high energy, but nothing worked. He tried to _not_ think about Lily, but that failed miserably. Eventually, he admitted defeat. He decided he'd throw on his Invisibility Cloak and go outside for awhile.

Silently and slowly, James crept down the stairs to the common room. He was about to go out the door, when he heard someone say "James?"

James turned around. There was Lily, sitting on a couch in a white nightgown, with a book in her hands.

"Lily," he said, pulling off the Cloak. "What are you doing up? And how did you know I was there? I was invisible."

"I could just tell," she said. "There was a change in the room. I can't tell you what it was, as I have no clue either, but I felt something."

"Well, why are you still up?"

"Probably why you're still up: I couldn't sleep."

"You look tired, Lily," said James. And it was true. Lily looked as if she hadn't slept in a week.

"Of course I'm _tired_, James," Lily replied. "I just can't get myself to sleep."

"I know," said James with a tenderness he reserved just for Lily. He sat down next to her on the couch, and took the book from her hands.

"There's plenty of time for reading in the morning," he said as he placed the book on the table. "But all it's going to do now is strain your eyes and make them look so exhausted and miserable that I'm going to start crying, because as you know, I can never bear to see you in any state but a state of pleasure, contentment, satisfaction, cheerfulness, merriment, gaiety, joy, glee, delight, good spirits, lightheartedness, well-being, enjoyment, exuberance, exhilaration, elation, ecstasy, jubilation, rapture, bliss, euphoria, or some other form of happiness."

Under normal circumstances, Lily would have protested James's taking the book from her. But tonight, she was so very tired that all she could do was nod and allow James to do whatever he wanted to. Besides, Lily was pretty sure that James's primary goal in life was to make her life as amazing as humanly possible.

James wrapped his arm around Lily. "Oh, Lily," he said, still with that same tenderness. "Sweet, pretty, clever, amazing Lily. Silver-doe Lily. Willow-wand Lily. Charming, stunning, transfigured Lily. Ever-so-talented Lily. Lifesaving Lily. Heart-capturing, love-of-my-life, fallen-from-the-stars Lily." And so on, and so forth. James wasn't even thinking about what he said; he was just saying every single kind thing he could say to the angel whose head was now on his shoulder.

Lily wasn't really listening to exactly what James said. She couldn't even hear it all, as he was speaking very quietly and one of her ears was pressed against his shoulder. Instead, she was listening to the soft, sweet tone of his voice, the gentle, loving little caress he used each time he said her name, the slight accent to each compliment he gave her, and the subtle melody and tune to the words. He almost sounded poetic, musical. Like he was singing her name, instead of saying it.

All of this, all of the little nuances of James's ongoing monologue, soothed Lily and made her feel calm and relaxed in a way she never had before. She kicked off her slippers, and put her legs on the couch so she was pretty much reclining on James's shoulder.

James held her tighter. Finally, finally, Lily was warming up to him.

* * *

**Hello, wonderful, awesome readers! I know this was sort of a cheesy scene at the end, but... I was tired and so I decided to make this one. It works.**

**Also, yes, I did copy and paste from my thesaurus for all of those synonyms to happiness. Deal with it.**

**Review, review, review!**


	11. Lunchtime

**Alright, everyone, this is where the story becomes totally Katiefied! I'm going to try to make this as original as possible, but please forgive me if I steal someone's idea. Trust me, I only use ideas that I think are good, so if I steal your idea unknowingly, it's because I liked the idea!**

* * *

It had been three weeks since Lily and James's first date at the Three Broomsticks. And while they had gone out together enough times since to be considered "an item," _nobody_, not even the "Gryffindor Gossips," as James called the Gryffindor sixth-year girls other than Lily, had even mentioned the relationship. This was because _every_ student at Hogwarts was tingling with anticipation for the upcoming Quidditch final: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It was supposed to be the biggest match in fifty years, because the Slytherin Seeker, Regulus Black, was said to be one of the best Seekers in Hogwarts history.

And Regulus also happened to be Padfoot's little brother. Which naturally made things more difficult for James.

"Why on earth are you so worried about this match, James?" asked Lily concernedly at lunch two days before the big day. "After all, isn't the Slytherin Keeper, to quote you, a 'blundering, talentless gorilla'?"

"He _is_, Lily," said James. "I just..."

"It's because you're playing Regulus, isn't it?"

"Yes!" said James. "I just... If Regulus tells his parents that his brother's best friend beat him in Quidditch, his family will throw a fit and hate Padfoot even more. I can't do that to Padfoot. He's my best friend."

"James Potter, you are the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. The rest of the team is counting on you to win this match for them. Who _cares_ about Regulus? If he's that spoiled, he needs to grow up. It's not your problem. Besides, he's Seeker; you're Chaser. If Regulus doesn't catch the Snitch, it's nothing to do with you. And even if Regulus does throw a fit, Sirius doesn't care. His parents disowned him already for being sorted into Gryffindor, for not being a pureblood-maniac, and for running away from home. He's pretty much your brother, now, not Regulus's."

"I s'pose you're right, Lily," said James. "Thanks for the moral support."

"Anytime, James," said Lily, grinning. Just then, an owl flew overhead, and dropped something into Lily's lap.

"That's strange," said Lily. "I thought the mail only came at breakfast." She looked at the envelope, which had one word on it: _Lily_. She vaguely recognized the handwriting, but she couldn't place it. Slowly and carefully, she opened the envelope.

* * *

James went back to eating. He assumed that whatever the deal was with this random lunchtime envelope, it wasn't a very big deal. Besides, lunch today was delicious. And more importantly, he and Lily both had a break after this, and their plan was to go down to a little spot by the lake that they hadn't been to before. So he wanted to finish lunch as quickly as possible. A few minutes later, he looked up. "Almost ready to go, Lily?"

Lily didn't respond.

"Lily?" James looked over at her. Her face was white as a sheet, her hands shaking, tears running down her face. "Lily, what's wrong?"

Lily stood up abruptly. "I... have to go." She fled from the Great Hall, letter in hand, and tears in her eyes.

"Lily! Lily, wait! What's wrong? Lily! Come back! Lily!" And James sprinted out after her.


	12. Hiding from Certain People

James followed Lily out of the Great Hall, past the grounds and the Quidditch pitch, and down to the lake. With every step she took, she seemed to cry even more. Finally, she sat down under a tree, her head bent, the letter in her hands.

In ten seconds, James was by her side. Panting slightly, he sat down next to her.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

Lily didn't respond. She was crying too much to form words.

"Lily..." James pulled out his wand. Waving it, he conjured up a white handkerchief. "Here." He gently wiped Lily's eyes, and then Vanished the handkerchief. "Better?"

"Th-thank you," whispered Lily, her voice shaking. She turned around. "Oh, crap, people are coming out. I don't want Sev-everyone to see me."

James knew what she had nearly said. But he didn't want to say so explicitly. What would he say? He decided to just be subtle.

"I understand," said James, nodding. "Hang on. I have an idea." He pointed his wand at Gryffindor tower. "_Accio Invisibility Cloak_." The Cloak soared out of the window and into his hand. "Here, Lily," he said, wrapping it around her shoulders and pulling the hood over her head. "Nobody will find you now. I promise." He thought he heard an "Okay" from Lily, but he wasn't sure. "I'll come back and check on you later, okay?" He left Lily there, so she could be alone and unfound.

"Wait! James! Come back!" Lily desperately wanted James to stay with her, and comfort her, but James was already gone. _Crap_, she thought. _Without James, I'll cry and give myself away_. There was only one thing she could do. It was risky, but she had to try.

She pulled out her wand, pointed it at herself, and muttered "_Silencio_." Then she started to cry again, but nobody could hear her. And nobody would.


	13. Severus Snape, Insane? (Yeah, right)

James went back to the Great Hall, where the other Marauders were waiting for him

"What happened, Prongs?" asked Sirius.

"Nothing, Lily's just upset about something. Wanted to be left alone. I gave her the Cloak so nobody would find her, _yes, Moony, she'll give it back tonight_. I'm going to check on her later, make sure she's doing okay."

"Um... could any of her troubles have to do with Snivellus?"

"Maybe, I dunno... why?" James was lying through his teeth, but he wanted to protect Lily at all costs. He didn't know whether she wanted anyone to know who had upset her.

"Because he's leaving the Great Hall the same way she did."

"Oh, crap," muttered James. "Whatever. She's got the Cloak on; he won't be able to find her unless she reveals herself." The others nodded. "Still..." He pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket. "_I solemnly swear I am up to no good_ - although, technically, I'm trying to do something good here." The Marauders' Map appeared on the parchment. "There... there's Lily... now where's Snivellus?" He searched the map. "Oh, _crap_, he's headed right for her! I have to get to her, fast!" He ran out the door. Thankfully, nobody was within sight, so he transformed into his stag form so he could run faster and more quietly. When he knew that Snape wasn't looking, he transformed back, and pretended to just be walking around.

"Lily?" he heard Snape say. "Lily, I know you're here somewhere. Lily? I need to talk to you. Please come out, Lily. I wanted to -"

"Snivellus, I hate to tell ya, but there's _nobody there_."

"Potter! This is your fault. You're probably hiding her."

"_What_ the _spell _are you _talking _about, Snivellus?"

"What do you mean, what the spell am I talking about? I'm talking about Lily, you idiot! She's out here _somewhere_ and you're probably hiding her under your Invisibility Cloak."

"If she were under my Cloak (which I admit proudly to having; you can tell Dumbledore if you want, but I talked to him first, and he said it was okay), then she'd still _be here_. And if she were here, you could just use _Homenum revelio_. Or you could Summon the cloak off of her. I thought that you were _smart_, Snivellus. Apparently not."

"Well then, if you're _so sure _about that, how about I just... _test _that little theory." Under the Cloak, Lily gasped. What was James thinking? She'd get revealed instantly. "_Homenum revelio!_" Nothing. "_Accio Invisibility Cloak!_" Still nothing.

"I dunno, Snivellus, but I'm pretty sure that nobody's here. I'd stop talking to imaginary people, if I were you, before someone thinks you're insane and tries to take you to St. Mungo's."

Snape muttered some... naughty words... under his breath and left the lake in a huff.

"Okay, Lily. He's gone. You can come out now."

Lily pulled off the Cloak, and tried to speak. But then she remembered she had Silenced herself. Oops.

"Lily? Why aren't you talking?"

Lily pointed to her wand, then to her throat, and then slit her throat with the wand.

"Wait... Did you use Silencio? So nobody would find you?"

Lily nodded emphatically.

"Oh, okay." He pulled out his wand. "_Finite Incantatem_."

"How in the name of Wizard God did you _do _that?" Lily asked as James crawled under the Cloak with her.

"Do what?" asked James innocently.

"Snape used Homenum revelio _and_ a Summoning Charm and he didn't find me? How did that happen?"

"Oh, well, I bewitched the Cloak a long time ago so that it can only be summoned with a wand that I consider mine. You won't be able to, nor can my friends, and certainly nobody I dislike. _Most particularly _Snape, because... because... because of what he said to you."

"Okay, and what about Homenum revelio? How come that didn't work?"

"Nonverbal Finite Incantatem." **(AN: Is this the correct countercurse/block thing? Someone tell me. Thanks)**

"Good one, James. Thank you."

"Now... tell me why you were crying."

"Snape... sent me this letter." She held it out. "Just... just read it. I don't know what to make of some of it."

"Okay, Lily. But if I go and attempt to _murder_ Snape, it's your fault for giving me evidence to hate him." He took the letter, and began to read.


	14. The First Letter

James couldn't read the letter all the way through. He just couldn't. Just the fact that it started with "Dearest Lily" made him sick. Then it proceeded into an apology for calling Lily a Mudblood (which was tolerable), an admission of love (which was _excellent_), and then a long spiel about how James, and not he, was responsible for what happened to Emily Ellsworth, a small, shy, Muggle-born first year in Hufflepuff, who was hit with so many curses, jinxes, and hexes that she was sent to St. Mungo's... three months ago.

James's face darkened "THAT RAT-FACED-!"

"It's a lie; I know that it's a lie, every bit of it! Not a word of it is true."

"I DIDN'T HEX THAT KID!

"James, I know. It's a lie. A terrible, evil lie."

James was steaming. "I swear to Wizard God, I am going to find that bastard and-"

Lily interrupted him. "James, don't," she pleaded. "If you got caught, or if-"

"I DON'T CARE, LILY!" screamed James. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT GETTING IN TROUBLE! HE CALLED YOU A MUDBLOOD AND NOW HE'S TRYING TO CONVINCE YOU THAT I HEXED A FIRST YEAR THAT WE BOTH KNOW HE DID! THAT'S WHAT I CARE ABOUT! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Lily was terrified. James had never shouted that way before. Tears slowly began sliding down her face.

James only had to take one look at Lily's tears to calm down. "Oh, Lily... I'm so sorry. I wasn't yelling at you. I-I-Oh, Lily, I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I shouldn't have shouted. Wizard God, Lily... Please don't cry. I can't bear to see you cry." He put his arm around Lily, trying to get her to stop crying. It physically hurt to see her cry.

"James..." Lily could barely speak. She was just overwhelmed with emotions. All she could do was make out one word before she burst into tears and fell into James's arms.

"Lily, please stop crying; I can't bear seeing you this miserable. Please, Lily, at least just tell me what's wrong so I can try to help you."

"I-I-I don't know what specifically is wrong. _Everything_ is wrong. Everything just _sucks_, James. It just..." She paused for a minute. "_Snape's_ what's wrong, James. When he called me Mudblood, and then this, and blaming you for what happened to little Emily, and-and-and-"

James was overcome by a mixture of fury and pain and sadness. That horrid bastard, making his love cry like this. James really wanted to kill the ass, but he knew that Lily would never be able to live with that on her conscience.

"Lily, if it weren't for the fact that it would make you more upset, I would cause that rat-butt twisted jerk to shed a drop of blood for every one of your tears. But I know you'd see that blood on your hands instead of mine, so I won't. But I won't _ever_ forgive him for everything he's done for you."

"James, stop. He isn't worth your time, skills, or energy. Really, James, I'm fine."

"Lily Evans, you are not fine by any definition of the word. I will not allow you to say you are fine. That is a lie and you know it."

"Okay, I'm not fine, but promise you won't attack Snivellus?"

"Promise. Not if you don't want me to."

"Alright."

"I love you, Lily."

Lily didn't respond.


	15. Lilsie

The following night, the Marauders and Lily were all in the Gryffindor common room, just sort of hanging out and relaxing.

Well... Lily and Remus weren't exactly relaxing. They were being responsible and _actually doing their homework_.

"_Finally_," said Lily, as she put down her Arithmancy work. "Wizard God, James, you were smart not to take Arithmancy. You'd hate it."

"I'm sure I would, Lily," said James, walking over to plant a kiss on her cheek. "D'you have any more homework, or can you sit down and relax for once in your life?"

"No, I've still got Transfiguration to finish," said Lily. "And once again, I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. Professor McGonagall is going to look at my paper and not understand what I'm talking about."

"Let me see what you have so far," James said with a hint of that same sweet tenderness that he used whenever Lily got nervous or upset. Lily showed him the paper. "This looks fine," said James as he read over the work. "Lily, you seriously need to get some more confidence in yourself because you're good at Transfiguration. Just finish it up, and you're all set."

"Okay. Thanks, James."

"No problem, Lily," said James gently. "Y'know what, Lily? I want to give you a nickname."

"A nickname?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, a nickname," said James. "Something special that only I get to call you."

"Okay... Like what? You won't get to call me Tonight, if that's what you're thinking."

"Haha, very funny, Lily," said James, rolling his eyes. "No, I want to call you something different. Like... Lilsie."

"Lilsie?" Lily tried the name.

"Lilsie. Lily with an s inside. Lilsie."

"Okay. Lilsie. Now, it's my turn to give _you_ a nickname. How about... Jamie?"

"NO! ABSOLUTELY-"

"I kid!" Lily laughed out. "No... I'll call you... I'll call you... Y'know what? I'm just gonna keep calling you James, if you don't mind."

"Okay. I'll be James to you, Lilsie."

"Lilsie..." Lily tried the name again. "I like it. It's pretty."

"Like you," said James, playing with her hair. "Now c'mon, Lilsie, you need to relax."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Lily got up out of the chair.

James gestured grandly to an empty love seat. "Right this way, Miss Evans."

Lily curtsied. "Thank you, Mister Potter."

James laughed. "Nah, I don't like that. Only the teachers can call us Miss Evans and Mister Potter. But to me, you'll always be my very own Lilsie." He sat down on the love seat, and pulled Lily down with him, cuddling her on his lap. Then, he had an idea. He began tickling Lily, immediately causing her to shriek.

"Hey, stop it! James! Stop! I'm ticklish! Stop it! James! Stop! _James!_"

The Marauders all cracked up. James took this as a signal to continue tickling Lily. Lily liked it, but she decided to play-fight.

"James, stop! Guys! Help me out here! Get him to stop tickling me!"

"What was that, Lilsie? You want me to tickle you more? Why, of _course!_ You should have said so before." James, chuckling, continued to tickle her.

Lily, realizing that James wouldn't stop, got up off of the couch and went back to sit with Remus. For some reason, James let her...

... because James was pulling out his wand and putting a nonverbal Tickling Charm on Lily.

"Eek! James! Cut it out!"

"Okay, okay, fine. _Finite Incantatem._"

"That's better. Now, can I sit with you, or are you going to _attack_ me again?"

"I promise I won't tickle you, Lilsie. Now, will you please come back to sit with me?"

"Okay, James. But no more tickling." Lily walked over to James with a slight skip in her step. She really did love him, but she was still trying to play hard to get.

"Lil-sie," sang James. He kissed her cheek and twirled her hair. The Marauders simultaneously pretended to puke. "Hey!" he said to his friends. "Can't I have a cheesy moment with the love of my life without my three best mates ruining it?"

"Sorry, Prongs," said Sirius, grinning. "But that's what we're here for. To make sure you remain one of us. A Marauder."

Lily grinned. "Don't worry, James. Obviously your friends are way more important to you than I am. After all, I'm just a girl, right?"

"Lilsie, how could you say that?" said James. "Nobody in the world is more important to me than you. _Nobody._" Hearing this, the Marauders all began to protest. "Sorry, guys, but it's the truth. Lily Evans is the most amazing person ever."

"Oh, _James_," said Lily, giggling. "You really are so sweet."

"Not as sweet as you, Lilsie," said James, leaning in ever so slightly. "You're so sweet that sugar is completely terrified by you."

Lily couldn't resist. She leaned forward and kissed James, who was at first shocked but then overjoyed. He wrapped his arms around Lily.

Neither of them were very good kissers.


	16. Responsible Mode

After they finished making out (which lasted a good minute and a half), Lily snapped back into Responsible Mode.

"Oh, crap, Remus and I have prefect duties! Errrgh..."

"Here, I have an idea." James pulled out the Marauders' Map.

"What in the name of Wizard God is _that?_" asked Lily.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," said James, tapping the parchment with his wand. The map showed itself.

"Holy crap," said Lily, in awe.

"Here, look at it and see if anyone isn't where they're supposed to be."

"What, so everyone's name shows up where they are in the school?" James nodded. "Hmmm... no, it looks like all of the Gryffindors are in Gryffindor Tower... wait... who's that over by the lake?" She read the name. "Severus Snape. What's _he_ doing out there at night? He shouldn't be there at this hour. I could go and dock points from him... oh, crap, he's a prefect too. Crap."

"Besides that, I don't want you going out there, Lilsie." James's eyes immediately clouded with concern.

"And why not, James? Why shouldn't I?"

"Lilsie, I don't want him to hurt you. I want to keep you safe."

"James, I am not a child."

"I know, Lilsie, but you're my girlfriend, and I love you, and if you get hurt I'll never be able to live with myself."

"What if we go together? Under your Cloak? That way, I can make sure he's not doing anything wrong - I _am _a prefect, and if he's doing anything dangerous I can report him to Professor Dumbledore - but he won't see me, and you'll be there too."

"Okay, Lilsie, fine. But know that I don't like this, at all."

"Go right on hating this, James. Let's go." And together, invisible and silent, they left the common room.


	17. Lily Flips

Lily and James crept out to the lake together, following the map, until they found Severus Snape. Snape was sitting in the precise same spot Lily and James were on their first date, and he was doing the exact same thing: casting a Patronus. A doe Patronus.

"_Expecto patronum_." Five or six silver does sprang out from Snape's wand. The does were identical to-

"Mine..." Lily whispered her realization in shock. "Why... why does he have my Patronus?"

James had no idea. "I have no idea," he said. "Shhh! Listen."

Snape began talking. "Lily... Lily, I'm sorry. Lily... Lily, I love you. I'm sorry. Lily..." The monologue continued as such. And it was obvious that Snape was being real.

"Severus... was... being... honest..." It wasn't a question. Lily didn't doubt it. She knew it was true. Snape loved her, and he was sorry. But then...

James had no idea what to say. He was watching Lily's green eyes, which first started watering, and then filled with anger.

"You knew that the letter was true. James Potter, you bastard. This letter was true, and you did hex that girl. I cannot believe you, or myself. Well, that's it. You always were an immature asshole but this takes the Wizard-God-damn cake. You lied to me, Potter. You worthless piece of crap. Get the heck away from me." And with that, Lily threw off the Invisibility Cloak, and ran down towards Snape, calling "Sev."

"Wait! Lilsie! Come back!"

"DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN!"

* * *

**Hey guys. Sorry that was a short chapter, but hopefully it's okay. Please don't review anything along the lines of "NOO!" because I have a plan here. Don't worry, this is and always will be a Jily (Jilsie) fic. It will turn out okay in the end, promise.**


	18. Just Like Old Times

James, to say the very least, was depressed.

Scratch that. James had never been so miserable in his life. Not a day went by where he didn't cry in the bathroom. He slowly spiraled downward. He stopped speaking, laughing, smiling. He just sulked through each day.

To think that Snape had stolen his Lilsie - he would always call her that in his mind - away from him with a stupid Patronus! And worse, she thought that James was evil.

"Get over yourself, Prongs," said Sirius. "I mean, if she's that easily convinced that you hexed that first year, she's not worth my time."

Sirius received a punch in the face for that. Which he should have expected.

The worst part was seeing Lily's face every single day. She always seemed so happy, and Snape made her happier.

"Se-verus," she sang out as she saw him in the Great Hall. _Here we go_, thought James. _Just like every day. And just like old times._

"Lily!" And Snape ran to her and kissed her.

It took every ounce of self control James possessed not to tell them to get a room. Instead, he looked over at Lily, pain in his eyes. She tossed her hair and turned back to Snape.

"What is _up _with Potter?" she asked.

"Oh, Lily, he's probably just jealous that you like _me _over _him_." Snape kissed her cheek.

And in that moment, James had to leave the room. He had a curse ready, but if it hit Lily...

* * *

"He's probably just jealous that you like me over him," said Severus.

Was that really true? Did she like Sev over Potter? Did she? Lily wasn't sure. But Severus loved her, she reminded herself, and Potter is a no-good rotten hexing bastard.

Or was he? Did he, _could_ he, ever hex a first year to that measure? Sure, he had hexed kids before, loads of times, but send a kid to St. Mungos? Besides, wasn't it common knowledge that Severus did all of that? Lily just wanted the truth.

The truth. That was it!

Lily had an ingenious idea. All she needed was a place to work, where nobody could see her, and more importantly, could function as a potion lab.

The Room of Requirement. Of course.

Lily left the Great Hall and went up to the seventh floor of Hogwarts.


	19. The Second Letter

_Dear Mum, _wrote James.

_I've never been so miserable in my entire life. Severus Snape gave Lily a letter expressing his love for her and apologizing for calling her a you-know-what, which was mildly annoying but fine. Except in that same letter, he accused me of hexing a little first year named Emily, who's been in St. Mungo's for three months. I know for a _fact_ that Snape and his friends hexed that kid, but Lily wasn't there to see it, so she doesn't know the truth. At first, Lily thought the entire letter was a lie, but then she and I spied on Snape casting a Patronus that looked just like hers, indicating that he did love her. That made Lily think the entire letter was true, so she left me there. Now things are just like old times: she and Snape are together, and she thinks I'm a no-good. I don't know why she would think that about me. She knows I've changed, doesn't she?_

_My friends haven't been very helpful. Remus's only advice has been to not try to win her back. It'll make me look desperate, he says. And I guess he's right, but I'm so tempted to try to get her back. If Snape wants things to be the way they were, then so be it. Sirius is even less helpful. He keeps telling me that she isn't worth it. That she shouldn't have been parted from me so easily. But he's wrong, Mum. She is so very worth it. She's perfect, the love of my life. I only wish Sirius understood that. He's never been in love, though, so I guess that he's off the hook, sort of. But he could still be an understanding, sympathetic friend, right? Oh, who am I kidding? Sirius doesn't know the meaning of the word "sympathetic."_

_I just want to _kill_ Snape right now for taking her from me. I can't _believe_ his nerve. Playing off of Lily's hidden doubt of my changing my ways for his own purposes. I know what you'll say, Mum, that maybe he's just acting on his love for Lily, but if he _really_ loved her, he'd understand that she moved on back when he said, and I quote, he didn't "need help from a filthy Mudblood like her." Or had she? If she had moved on back then, would she have left me for him so easily? Why did it only take a Patronus to pull her away? Maybe she didn't care for me as much as I thought._

_And that makes it worse, Mum. Lily and I were _dating_. She saved me from my own sleeping potion. She and I were together. We kissed the night she left me. And it was our first ever real kiss. I thought she had feelings for me. I thought that we had a chance. I thought that maybe, she would learn to love me the way I do her. And I do love her, Mum. I love her and always will._

_I don't know what to do. I feel like there's no point in living anymore. Not without Lily._

_Your son,_

_James_

James sealed the letter, put it in an envelope, and sent it off with his owl, Mist. He knew his mother would be able to provide him with some advice. He sat back in his chair in the common room, and began working on some homework. History of Magic - what fun.

Just then, James heard laughter and loud talking outdoors. He tried to ignore it, but it made already impossible to do homework... more impossible. Eventually, he decided to get whoever was out there to shut up.

James poked his head out of the portrait hole. "Could you guys please-"

Lily Evans turned around and glared at him. _Crap._

"-keep it down; I'm trying to do homework, and also, Lily-" (oh, how it hurt to omit that _s_) "-I'd prefer not to be glared at for asking a simple question."

"Leave her alone, Potter." Snape's voice was cold and heartless.

"Well, I'm _sorry_, Snivellus. And I must congratulate you."

Snape was obviously confused. "What for?" he asked.

"For recreating your perfect, and my terrible, past. Must be nice, getting to start over. Because Wizard God knows that _I_ never will, thanks to _you_." He ran back into the common room.

"Come on, Lily," said Severus. "Potter's insane. Not worth your time. Let's go down to the lake and watch the sunset."

"Actually, I don't really want to watch the sunset," said Lily. "I want to be alone for a little while. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course. I'll go back to the dungeons. See you tomorrow, Lily?"

"See you tomorrow, Sev."

Lily waited for Severus to turn the corner before taking the shortcut to the seventh floor.

* * *

Meanwhile, James was lying on his bed, trying not to get tears on his History of Magic book. Every single time he saw Lily with Snivellus, he cried. He couldn't bear seeing her with that lying, twisted bastard. He just wished there were some way to force Snivellus to tell the truth. There was a charm, but he stunk at it. Or there was Veritaserum, but he couldn't get ahold of any of that. Or he could use the Imperius Curse, or maybe Confund Snape, but... somehow that didn't seem right to him. For some reason, he thought it wouldn't be real if he used magic to make Snape tell the truth. There had to be another way.

And then, all of a sudden, he figured it out. He grabbed more paper and a pen, for he had another letter to write.


	20. Emily Ellsworth

"Emily."

Emily rolled over. She wanted to stay asleep for a little longer.

"Emily, wake up."

Why did she have to get up now?

"Emily, you need to wake up now."

She covered her head with her pillow.

"Emily, I know you're awake. Please wake up."

Emily opened her eyes to see Kayla, her nurse, standing over her. Kayla was nice, for the most part, but she always insisted on Emily's rising at seven o'clock every morning. "You'll have to get up at seven every day when you go back to school, Emily," Kayla always said. "So you need to practice."

"Good morning, Emily," said Kayla, smiling.

"Morning, Kayla," said Emily. "Will you always wake me up this early?"

"You know the answer, Emily," said Kayla as she left the room. Which was true. Emily did know the answer. She wished the answer would change.

Emily wished she were back at Hogwarts. St. Mungo's was just boring. She couldn't practice magic, the food was terrible, and she was all alone. She missed her best friends and fellow Hufflepuff first-years, Sarah and Kate. And she missed her prefect friend, Lily Evans.

Emily was a Muggle-born, and for awhile, she didn't know anyone else who was. The only Hufflepuff kid she knew was Muggle-born was John Lewis, but he was in third year. There was a first year in Ravenclaw who was Muggle-born, Megan Frank, but Emily wasn't in any classes with the Ravenclaws.

It wasn't a problem, really. Emily had two good friends that didn't care that Emily was Muggle-born. And for the most part, she was fine. Unless she happened to get on a Slytherin's bad side.

The Slytherins all hated Emily for being a Muggle-born. Some of them called her Mudblood, which Emily soon learned was a terrible name. They pushed her around, and teased her, and so she tried to keep to herself and hide whenever she saw anything green, for fear that it was the flash of a Slytherin tie.

One day, however, she managed to piss off a Slytherin fourth year named Regulus Black. Regulus was very much into the pureblood-mania, as he came from a very old Wizarding family in which such cultures were valued. Regulus decided to push and shove her, tease her, and eventually cursed her. At this point, a whole bunch of his friends were laughing and pointing, and Emily thought it would never end, when all of a sudden, a Gryffindor girl with red hair came rushing towards them.

"Regulus Black, leave this girl alone. Twenty points from Slytherin. Unlike the vast majority of your family, Hogwarts doesn't tolerate unkindness, period, and we most definitely do not tolerate bullying of younger students." All of the boys muttered swears as they left the room. "And five more points, for vulgar language." The girl knelt down by Emily. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Emily couldn't speak, partly because she was frozen by the curses, and partly because she was terrified.

"Those guys cursed you, didn't they? Hang on." The girl pulled out her wand. "_Finite Incantatem_."

"Th-thank you," stammered Emily.

"Don't worry about it. What's your name?"

"Emily. Emily Ellsworth."

"I'm Lily Evans."

"You're a Gryffindor. Why did you help me?"

"Because I'm a prefect, and prefects help everyone. Besides, you don't have to be in the same House, or even the same year, to be friends."

"Y-you're my friend?"

"Of course, if you want me to be. I'll be your friend. Besides, I'm Muggle-born, too. And I know there aren't a lot of Muggle-borns at Hogwarts right now."

"How do you know I'm Muggle-born?"

"As stupid as Slytherins are, and they are stupid, they don't call people you-know-what unless they're actually Muggle-born."

And from that point forward, Lily and Emily were friends. The fact that Emily was only eleven, while Lily was sixteen, didn't matter. Emily and Lily spent time in the library together, and they sat by the lake and talked. Lily helped Emily with her homework, and Emily helped Lily with her prefect duties. Emily frequently told Lily that when _she _was a fifth year, she was going to be a prefect just like Lily, only instead of the best _Gryffindor _prefect ever, _she'd _be the best _Hufflepuff _prefect ever. Emily thought of Lily as the big sister she had never gotten to have, and she was pretty sure Lily thought of her as a little sister, too.

Oh, how she missed Lily! Lily was the best big sister she could have asked for, and now they couldn't talk to one another, or see one another, all because of a whole bunch of Slytherin boys.

They were older than Regulus Black and his friends. They looked more like Lily's age, sixteen or seventeen. And they were much more skilled at magic. One of them, the guy who seemed like the leader of the gang, used some spell that made huge, deep cuts all over her body. She didn't know what it was, but it hurt. And there was one that was like torture, knives all over her body. But it never drew blood. It just hurt.

But it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Emily was apart from Lily.

Lily hadn't been there when the boys cursed her. If she had, she probably would've punished them severely. But Lily hadn't been there to save her that time, and so Emily was in St. Mungo's.

She wondered how Lily was doing. The last time she had seen Lily, she had confessed a slight crush for a guy named James Potter. And it was no secret that James liked Lily. Emily, while always siding with Lily (who also always proclaimed great annoyance at her lover), had secretly hoped the relationship would work out. Maybe they were dating by then.

But then she remembered that yesterday, Kayla had told her that she could go home in three days. So it was only two days until she got to go home.

All of a sudden, a knock at Emily's door pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she called out.

Kayla peeked in. "Emily, there's a letter for you," she said.

"All right then, may I see it?"

"Here." Kayla brought the letter over to Emily.

The letter was addressed to "Miss Emily Ellsworth, c/o St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, etc. etc." There wasn't a return address in the corner, but upon turning the envelope over, she saw a return address on the back flap: "James Potter, c/o Gryffindor House, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

James Potter? Why would _he _be writing Emily?

Emily opened the letter and began to read.


	21. The Third Letter

_Dear Emily,_ said the letter.

_I am writing to you regarding your close friend and my true love, Lily Evans. Lily has recently been told an outright lie concerning the attack on you three months ago: She believes that I, and not a group of Slytherins, cursed you._

_This lie was actually told to her by Severus Snape, whom I believe was the person leading the attack. Snape and I have a long history of hatred, but it was made clear to both Lily and me recently that he is also in love with her. Lily and I had been dating for a few weeks before she was told this falsehood, and I believe that Snape did this to pull us apart. Unfortunately, he was successful._

_I went into St. Mungo's yesterday to inquire about your release date, and I heard that you will be allowed to return to school this upcoming Tuesday. Upon your return, would it be all right if I were to talk with you about this situation, so as to clarify things with Lily?_

_Thank you so much, Emily. I have a feeling that you understand how miserable this makes me._

_Sincerely,_

_James Potter_

Emily closed the letter. She was outraged. That stupid Slytherin, convincing Lily that James, sweet, lovable James, had cursed her. How _could _he? Poor James, she thought. He had lost Lily because of a letter.

Immediately, Emily sent a return letter:

_Dear James,_

_I have much to say on this situation, but I will tell these things to you in person. For now, all I can say is "Yes, definitely." Anything for Lily._

_Sincerely,_

_Emily Ellsworth_

Emily sealed the envelope. A letter from a Slytherin had torn Lily from James. Perhaps a letter from her would bring them back together.


	22. Emily Makes A Plan (which fails)

"Shh! Professor Dumbledore is speaking." Lily was reprimanding a fourth year.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Good morning, students," he said. "Typically, I save important announcements such as this one for suppertime, but this announcement must not wait." He paused for a moment. "Earlier this morning, Miss Emily Ellsworth, a Hufflepuff first-year, returned to Hogwarts from St. Mungo's." Cheers erupted from all of the tables but the Slytherin table. "Yes, welcome back, Emily. And to all of her fellow classmates, I urge you to help her to catch up, as she has surely missed plenty. Hufflepuff prefects, it would be kind of you to help as well, or any prefects for that matter." Professor Dumbledore looked directly at Lily, who nodded and smiled. It was no secret to Professor Dumbledore that Lily and Emily were closer than sisters.

Professor Dumbledore continued. "As overjoyed as I am to have Emily back, the fact remains that whoever sent her to St. Mungo's has not been caught and turned in. Therefore I ask that anyone who knows anything about what happened three months ago should tell someone about it, whether that be a prefect, Head Boy or Girl, your Head of House, a teacher, or myself. Your report will remain anonymous."

"Hear, hear," muttered Lily. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"So... Is Professor Dumbledore done talking?"

Lily turned, expecting to see the fourth year she had reprimanded earlier. Instead, she found herself looking into the hazel eyes of James Potter... and then smiling, a _very_ slight smile, at the joke.

James's face lit up, just a tiny bit. But it was enough to clue Lily in to what she was doing. Quickly, she scowled.

"That wasn't clever, Potter," she said, using his last name to make it absolutely clear she wasn't pleased. "And some nerve you have. After what you did to Emily, making dumb jokes when she comes back."

"I won't say that I didn't do it, because you'll say I'm lying," said James. "But at least admit it, Lily... you did just smile." Lily didn't respond. "Don't hide those smiles, Lily," said James, smiling himself. "Because as much as I love it when you smile, I know someone else who loves it just as much, if not more."

Lily was completely perplexed, but then James pointed at the Hufflepuff table...

... where Emily Ellsworth was raising her hand.

* * *

"Yes, Emily? Do you have something you'd like to say?" Professor Dumbledore motioned for Emily to stand.

"Thanks, Professor," said Emily. "I'd like to make a request: Could the culprit or culprits not have any punishment if they own up to their deeds? So, if someone reports them, and they admit it, they won't get into any trouble with the school? I just want to know who did it, and end all of the rumors going around - because there are rumors going around - once and for all."

Dumbledore paused for a moment. He looked at Emily very carefully. Emily felt as if his eyes were seeing directly into her head, and she felt like she had to look away. Quickly, she glanced over to her left. Somehow, her eyes managed to fall onto Snape. Her teeth gritted ever so slightly. She turned again, finding Lily at the Gryffindor table, and, two seats over, James. Her jaw relaxed, but then tensed. She hoped her plan would work. She turned her head again to meet Dumbledore's eyes, willing him to say yes.

"That seems fair," said Dumbledore. "And ever-appropriate for your House. Helga Hufflepuff would be proud of you, Emily. As am I."

"Thank you," said Emily, a bit shyly, and she sat down, silently cheering herself for her plan.

* * *

_Good for Em_, Lily thought. _She really is such a Hufflepuff, in the best way._

She was so happy to have her little Emily back at school. Emily was like the little sister that Petunia wasn't. And even though Lily had plenty of friends in her own grade, little Emily was... something different. It was special, being close to another Muggle-born. She and Emily just understood each other.

And soon, Lily was silently raging at James Potter for what he did to her... but was it Potter? Or was it Severus? Their faces swirled through her head.

Lily just wanted to know the truth. Her Veritaserum idea had completely crapped out. But she still wanted to know the truth.

* * *

James was thrilled about Emily's plan. He was safe if Snape tired to oust him, but he also could oust Snape with a clear conscience. He'd do that tonight... unless...

Severus Snape raised his hand.

Unless that.


	23. In Which Many Heads Spin

An update on the current status of the important people in this scene.

Lily Evans: desperate for the truth, and now confused  
James Potter: Officially Freaking Out  
Emily Ellsworth: Also Officially Freaking Out

Okay. Update over. Back to the scene. Where were we? Oh. Right. Snape raised his hand. Holy crap.

* * *

James, as was said before, was Officially Freaking Out. Snape was about to oust him _right then_, in front of the whole school. And it wouldn't even be true! Snape was going to tell his lie to everyone, ruining James's reputation and tearing Lily away from him for good.

He put his head in his hands, waiting for the worst to come. He just wanted it to be over.

Sirius came over to him. "Dude... You're screwed."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"Well... We all know you didn't do it, if that's any comfort."

"It's not. But thanks anyway, Padfoot."

* * *

Emily was also Officially Freaking Out. She also felt stupid. She should have seen the obvious flaw in her plan. And now her plan was making things worse. Now Snape would... Oh, just look back at what James was thinking. Same idea.

She met James's eyes. _I'm sorry_, she mouthed to him.

She closed her eyes. Three... two... one.

But she had an idea. She looked directly at Snape, willing him to find her.

* * *

"Severus?" Professor Dumbledore had Snape stand up.

Snape then realized that he had a choice. He could blame James, and he'd have Lily forever, and James would be ruined...

But would he have Lily forever? What if she found out?

If he told the truth, he'd lose her...

If he lied, he'd have her...

It seemed so obvious, so easy...

But it wasn't. He didn't know.

Over at the Hufflepuff table, little Emily was glaring at him. _How dare you_, her eyes said. And then she did something odd.

She pulled a green headband out of her bag, twirling it in her hands. Then she put it into her short, blond hair.

Something about that headband was familiar. He'd seen it before...

And then memories flowed forward, of that green headband in Lily Evans's red hair. It was a gift from her sister Petunia, she had said, a gift from before she got her Hogwarts letter. When Petunia turned against her, Lily had said that she would hold onto the headband until she met her _real_ sister.

Her real sister, Emily.

Snape sighed. He was busted. If he said anything but the truth, Emily would tell Lily immediately.

Better to go down with your head held high, Lily had told him once.

He took a breath. Here we go, he thought.

Three...

two...

one...

"_Priori Incantatem_."


	24. Priori Incantatem

_Emily Ellsworth is completely lost. Where on _earth_ is the Charms corridor? The fact that the staircases move don't help - and neither does the fact that Peeves has come up behind her and is whispering "You're late, ickle firstie" over and over._

_"Leave me alone, Peeves, or I'll tell the Bloody Baron," Emily says firmly. This gets rid of the poltergeist, but it doesn't help the fact that Emily is lost._

_She wonders what she'll do. She doesn't want to miss Charms class, but she has no idea where to go._

_She sees an older student walk by. Perfect - she'll ask him where to go. She's done that before; the older kids are usually nice... assuming they aren't Slytherins. The Slytherins usually make things worse for her, probably because she's Muggle-born._

_She runs up to the other kid. And then she sees his green-and-silver tie. Crap. A Slytherin. But then she sees his prefect badge. Maybe Slytherin prefects are... human._

_"Excuse me," Emily says shyly, "where's the Charms corridor? I'm a bit lost."_

_The prefect, thankfully, seems nice. He opens his mouth, about to tell her, when three of his friends come in and surround him._

_"You weren't about to help that Mudblood, were you?" asks one of them._

_"Don't tell me you're becoming a blood traitor," says another._

_"Or a teacher's pet. Mr. Perfect Prefect Snape, eh?"_

_"I'm not a blood traitor, or a teacher's pet, nor was I trying to help her."_

_"Well then, Snape, let's then have a little fun with Little Miss Mudblood. Crucio!"_

_Emily falls to the ground, shrieking in pain. The Cruciatus Curse is nothing new to her, but it hurts nonetheless._

_In about five seconds, the three other Slytherins are shooting various curses at her. She is terrified. She has no idea what to do._

_Only the prefect, Snape, has not raised his wand._

_"Why aren't you cursing her, Snape? Scared?"_

_"No. I'm not scared."_

_"Prove it."_

_Snape looks down at the child on the floor. Her eyes beg him to stop them, to save her._

_"Sectumsempra!"_

_Emily begins bleeding heavily. Her clean uniform is stained red, as is her soft blond hair._

_In a way, her red hair reminds Snape of Lily Evans._

_It would be the only time in Snape's life that an image of Lily would make him sad._


	25. A Messy Situation

The image of the scene shimmered and vanished. The students were all staring at him in awe, in shock, in anger.

He found Lily. Her face was pale, like snow, her eyes full of tears.

He didn't know what to do. But he had to do something, say something.

"I'm sorry," he said. It was all he could do before he started crying.

Lily looked at him with that look he knew well, the one where she was telling him, _That's not good enough._

He had to push on, through his tears. "I'm sorry," he said again. "For what you just saw. And..."

He found James Potter. And Emily. _And what, and what,_ they all were telling him

"And I'm sorry for lying about it."

* * *

Lily was absolutely shocked. She couldn't believe that Snape had just admitted what he had done, and apologized for that, and for lying. She looked over at James, and then she realized how horridly she had screwed up.

"James..." she started, but James shook his head, and pointed to Snape.

"Emily, I don't know what I was thinking for doing that. I don't know why. I won't make excuses. But I'm sorry." Snape had the same look in his eyes that he had that horrible night with the Patronus.

"And Lily... Oh, Wizard God, I don't know what to do or say... I lied to you about all of this, and took advantage of you, and... Lily, I'm so sorry." Lily wasn't sure how to react.

"I broke at least three, if not more, people by doing this, and all of you, I'm so very sorry... I know none of you will forgive me. And I understand that. You shouldn't. I deserve everything that happens to me from this point forward. I thought that I'd gain something from all of this. And, in a way, I did. But it wasn't real. It was all so fake and twisted and... I deserve to lose it all. So... goodbye, Lily. I know that I've lost your friendship by now. I'm so sorry."

There was a long, awkward silence. Then, from behind Lily, someone started clapping. Then more people, and more, and soon _everyone_, except for the Slytherins, was clapping.

Lily turned around, wondering who had started it.

And then she knew.

* * *

"Well," said Professor Dumbledore after the applause subsided. "It's certainly been an eventful morning. I assume that emotions are running too high to study well today, particularly amongst certain sixth years, so for today, classes are canceled. All of you may enjoy the day off. Now get out of here. It's getting stuffy. Go outside."

There was a burst of cheering, and everyone started getting up.

"Wait, wait, wait," called Dumbledore. Everyone froze. "Sit. We will do this in an orderly manner. Slytherins will leave first. Also, seventh-years, you may leave by the seventh-year door. Prefects, please direct the younger students out of the Great Hall." He, assuming that the students would act maturely, led the staff through the door into the staffroom.

How wrong he was...

The Slytherins all stood up, except for Snape, who had his head in his hands and probably didn't hear anything.

Normally, the kids left their plates on the table for the house-elves to clear away. The Slytherins in particular liked to leave their table as messy as possible.

Today, however, they had another plan.

Every single Slytherin dumped the contents of their plates and glasses onto Snape, and then left the room, laughing.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws seemed not to notice any of this, for they all went running out of the room. Some laughed, and a couple people slipped on the mess.

Lily saw all of it, and as the Gryffindors started to leave, she realized she was in for a horror show.

Except she wasn't. James Potter had managed to slip through the crowd, and was directing traffic through the exit.

He found Lily and mouthed, _Don't let them come through!_

Lily got the message. "Gryffindors, stop. Please go back to your seats for a few moments, while... things get taken care of."

The Gryffindors all sat down, and James gave her the thumbs-up.

When the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were all out, James called over to Lily, "Can you send them through by year?"

"Yes," Lily called back. "Okay. First years, you may leave. Please go with Remus. Avoid the mess, please."

* * *

After the last few students left the room, Lily started to leave herself. As she neared Snape, she saw James assisting in cleaning up the mess.

She decided she wanted to hear what they said. She hid behind a column.

"There... the floor's clean. Now you. _Tergeo_." It didn't work perfectly, but Snape was at least moderately clean.

"Thank you..." Snape's eyes suddenly became angry.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Potter, I know that I've lost her. You didn't have to rub it in by cheering about the whole thing."

"That wasn't what I was cheering for... Severus."

Snape did a double-double take, first at James's use of his first name, and then at what he said.

James continued. "You should talk to her, Severus. She's a forgiving person, Lily. She might not be as pissed as you think. And if she is... you should... you should end things with her. There should at least be some closure."

"Are you seriously trying to get me away from her faster so you can have her back?"

"Severus, you're not listening! She might forgive you. You may have a chance."

"You have an ulterior motive, Potter. Why in the name of Wizard God would you be trying to keep us together? You hate me. And you want her. What's going on?"

"I do want her. And I do hate you. That's all true. But more than that, I want Lily to be happy. And if that involves you... I suppose I'll have to be okay with that."

Snape did another double-take.

"I have to go." He ran out of the room.

Lily watched him leave from her hiding place.

James, not realizing that Lily was there, left as well.

Lily had never been more confused in her life.


	26. Emily Gives Advice

The door shut with a click as Lily stepped out of the castle and into the bright sunshine. The day couldn't have been more perfect. It was a great day to not be in classes, to just be outside and have some fun.

"Lily! Lily!" A voice called out from behind her. Lily turned towards the voice to find Emily running toward her.

"Em!" Lily ran over to her friend. The two embraced.

"I'm so glad you're back," Lily said quietly as the two walked over to their favorite tree. "I've missed you."

"Me too," Emily replied. "St. Mungo's is s-o-o-o-o-o boring."

"I'll bet!" Lily laughed. "But it must've been nice to not have any homework to do." The two girls sat down under the tree.

"That _was_ great," Emily admitted. "But still, homework would've been worth being at Hogwarts, with you and with the others. Speaking of Hogwarts, what's happened here since I was gone?"

"Well… Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup."

"Congratulations! I mean, it would have been great if Hufflepuff had won, but everyone knows that our team is absolutely horrific. Better you guys than Slytherin."

"Agreed."

"Well, obviously Quidditch isn't the biggest deal in the world. What's been going on with you? I have been absolutely dying to catch up with you."

"Eh… not much, really. Things have been pretty… normal." Lily, of course, was lying through her teeth, but she didn't really know just how much Emily did - or should - know about… recent events.

"Lily Evans, that is a lie and you know it. Your life is not, has never been, and will never be mundane. It's impossible for such a situation to occur."

"How so? Can't I have a boring life?"

"Impossible. You're too surrounded by interesting people to have a boring life, even if you yourself weren't interesting - which you are."

"I suppose you're right, Em," said Lily.

"Well then. Tell me. What's up? How're things with you and James?"

Lily didn't respond. She didn't know how.

"Something wrong, Lily?"

"No… no, I'm fine. Did you make any friends at St. Mungo's?"

"Lily, what are you-" And then Emily got it. "You're embarrassed."

"Why would I be embarrassed?"

"For believing Snape's letter."

"How-how did you-?" Lily's eyes widened.

"James told me what had happened," Emily said simply.

"James? He told you?"

"Yeah, he did. I think he was hoping that even if he got expelled or anything, at least I could set the record straight for you."

Lily sighed quietly. "Oh, Em, I feel so _stupid_. I can't believe I fell for all of that. And now James probably wants nothing to do with me."

"What makes you think that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lily asked. "This is pretty much what happened: I asked him out, we started dating. Then I got that letter from Snape, which I didn't believe at first. Then James and I made out. And that same night, I saw Snape cast a Patronus, which made me change my mind, so I just left James, no goodbyes or anything, and started dating Snape. I didn't think about his side of the story, or think at all, really. I just left."

"Lily, do you still like him?"

"_Like _him? Em… I'm in love with him."

"Then tell him. Just apologize to him, tell him how you feel… he'll take you back."

"Why should he take me back? I've been a total idiot, and mean. He doesn't deserve me, Em. He deserves better than me."

"Lily, that's ridiculous. First off, the worst thing you could be blamed for is making a mistake. Even that isn't quite fair. You were manipulated. It's not your fault if someone lies to you. And even if you did do something wrong, that doesn't make you bad, and it doesn't make you unworthy of any friend, or guy, or anything you want."

Lily shook her head. "But-"

"I'm not done," said Emily. "Let's just pretend, for the sake of argument, that somehow you aren't 'worthy' of whatever. Do you seriously think that James Potter cares? Lily, he's been in love with you for years. He cares about you more than anything or anyone else in the whole world. Everyone knows that."

Lily said nothing. Instead, she sighed quietly, and looked down.

"You should talk to him, Lily. If he is mad, he'll appreciate your talking to him. And if he's not - and he isn't - everything'll be good."

"You're right, Em," Lily said quietly. "I suppose I should go find him… But I don't know where he is. And should I do this alone, or… I just don't know what to do."

"Well, before anything happens, you _need_ to get out of your robes. Why don't you head back to Gryffindor Tower to change, and then we'll work out a plan?"

"Yeah, I suppose… But if James and his friends are there…"

"Oh, no, James isn't there. He's on the Quidditch pitch. See?"

Indeed, James was flying his broom around the Quidditch pitch. He seemed to be looking for something, as he was watching the ground very carefully and was moving a great deal more slowly than his usual as-fast-as-humanly-possible.

Lily watched him for a couple of seconds, flying around. He rounded a corner and then faced where she was sitting.

Apparently, she was what James was looking for, as he came racing down right towards her.

"Oh, crap," muttered Lily as James landed neatly next to her.

"Hey, Lily," said James.

"James?" said Lily, her hands shaking. "Can-can we talk?"


	27. Talking

James studied the girl in front of him. She didn't seem her usual strong-personality self. Rather, she seemed somewhat uneasy. Well, hopefully that would be settled if they talked.

"Sure, Lily," he said, smiling. "What's up?"

Emily, who had been standing quietly behind Lily, tapped the older girl's arm.

"I'll leave you two to talk. See you later, Lily."

"Yeah. See you later, Em." Just from her voice, James could tell that something was up.

"Lily, what's going on?" James was a little concerned.

Lily was quiet for a moment. Her lip quivered.

"I'm so sorry, James," she managed to get out, and then she burst into tears.

Forgetting - and also not caring about - the fact that their relationship status was uncertain, James sat right down next to Lily and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Lily," he said gently. "Lily, what are you apologizing for?"

"Snape… and Emily… and…" She couldn't finish.

_Of course_, James thought. He mentally slapped himself. And then he realized that Lily was apologizing for all of that.

"Lily, you didn't do anything wrong," he said.

"Yes I did," she argued, crying. "I believed him, and left you, and-"

"Oh, Lily, it was just a mistake. You don't need to apologize for that." He hugged her shoulders tighter, pulling her in a little more.

Lily apparently didn't like this, because she shrugged James's arm off of her, and at the same time pulled her knees in, wrapped her hands around the tucked-in legs, and buried her head.

James was slightly hurt by her shrugging him off. More importantly, he realized he had to clarify things to her. "Lily."

Lily didn't look up.

"Lily. Look at me."

Still nothing.

"Lily Cassandra Evans. Look. At. Me."

Lily looked up, partly from the shock of hearing her middle name.

James took her two hands in his. "Lily. None of this is your fault. You did nothing wrong. Do you hear me? You did nothing wrong, Lily. Do you understand?"

Lily nodded quietly. So James wasn't mad at her, apparently.

"Well, that's settled, then. Now. Is there anything else you want to talk about? What's wrong?" James asked, noticing Lily's face.

"James…"

"Yes?"

Lily paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to say what she was feeling.

"What now?"

"What do you mean, what now?"

"I don't know where to go from here. I don't want to be with Snape anymore; he lied to me and I don't have feelings for him anyway. But I don't know how to tell him. And I don't know what then, either. I don't know if you want me back, or-"

"Well, I can settle one thing right away. Lily, I would do absolutely anything to date you again. But I'm not going to date you until you've ended things with Snape, and until you want to date me again."

Lily nodded, and was about to say something, when James continued, "An idea might be, end things with Snape now, but we don't have to start dating until the start of next year. School's going to end in a month, anyway, and I know you're going to want to study for exams… more than you need to."

Lily smiled a little bit at the "more than you need to" bit. "I think that's a good idea, James," she said quietly. "But I definitely want to be friends. We can be friends, right?"

"Of course we can be friends, Lily. I'd love that. Besides, I need someone to help me in Potions and Charms."

Lily laughed. "Yes, and I need help with Transfiguration."

"You don't _really _need that much help," said James, smiling. "You're good at Transfiguration, honestly, as long as you don't get nervous."

"I beg to differ, but whatever," Lily said. "So, we're friends?"

"Lily, we are friends."

"Okay. But I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"I thought you called me Lilsie."

James broke into a bright smile. "Well, the last time I called you that, you yelled at me, but if you want me to call you Lilsie, I would be more than happy to do that."

"I would like you to call me Lilsie, as a matter of fact," Lily said, smiling.

"Well then, _Lilsie_," said James, "I guess that settles it. Now, can you _please_ help me with my Potions essay? I'm stumped."

"Sure, James," Lily replied, and the two walked back to the Gryffindor common room.


	28. Déjà Vu and Unexpected Saviors

Later that evening, Severus Snape found himself immobilized and silenced, dangling from the ceiling in an unused and magically locked classroom on the fourth floor.

The Slytherins, all still outraged at the events of that morning's breakfast, had decided that he wasn't a Slytherin anymore. So after dinner, a group of sixth and seventh years grabbed him on the way to the Slytherin dormitories and… well, read the last paragraph.

He was terrified, to say the least. He knew that nobody ever went by this particular classroom; nobody used it this year and nobody used any of the classrooms near it. Besides, even if anyone did use that corridor, they wouldn't be there anytime soon, as it was getting late.

Peeves, who apparently was able to pass through locked doors easily, had already been in to visit him twice… or rather, to torment him. But nobody else came.

He was going to get in trouble for being out of bed within the half-hour. But he didn't care. What he cared about was that all of his blood was flowing to his head. He thought he might pass out.

His wand had also been stolen by the kids, who explained that Snape wasn't a real wizard and didn't deserve a wand. So he was stuck.

If only someone knew he was there.

* * *

"Hey, Lilsie, Moony, do you guys have to do prefect stuff?" James pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket.

"Yeah, thanks, James," said Lily, walking over. "I've got it, Remus; you finish that essay."

"Here you go, Lilsie," said James as he handed over the sheet. "You know how to-"

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," said Lily, tapping the parchment with her wand. The Marauder's Map appeared on the face of the paper. "Well, looks like Gryffindor house is all set - wait. Hold on. Does anyone else notice major déjà vu?"

The Marauders all laughed heartily.

Lily continued studying the map. "Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me," said Lily.

"What is it, Lilsie?" asked James.

"Who's not in his room? One guess. Hint: déjà vu." Lily sighed

"Snape," muttered James. "Where is he this time?"

"Weirdly enough, alone in a classroom on the fourth floor."

"In the empty corridor?"

"Yeah. What in the name of Wizard God is he doing _there_, I wonder?"

"Well, you can have the Cloak and go check it out, and I'll go with you, if you want. But the déjà vu ends here, right? No more crazy-Lilsie?"

"Promise," said Lily, smiling. Then her smile fell. "Wait a minute. This is the second time in what, two weeks? I mean, I never thought the Slytherin prefects were all that responsible, but still. Why has nobody gone after him? I mean, nobody else knows where he is, but still, he's not in his dormitory."

"That is weird," said James, taking the map from Lily. "Hold on…" He tapped the map with his wand. Immediately little locks appeared on some of the doors on whichever side the door was locked on. "The door's locked from the outside of the room. He's locked in."

"Well, we have to go save him," said Lily, standing up. "James, where's the Cloak?"

"Wait," said Remus. "He can get out, can't he? With Alohomora."

"If he can, why hasn't he?" asked Lily. "I don't see why he'd be in a room locked from the outside. That's to keep people in, not out. It looks like someone's locked him in there. If they have half a brain, they've either taken his wand, or made it so Alohomora won't work."

"Well, in case Alohomora doesn't work, you should take this," said Sirius, speaking up for the first time that night. "_Accio Knife_." A silver knife fell into his hand. "Here. It's a magic knife that opens any lock, even ones that can't be Alohomora-ed."

"Thanks, Padfoot," said James, taking the knife. "C'mon, Lilsie, let's go slap déjà vu in the face."

James pulled out his silver Invisibility Cloak, and threw it over himself and Lily. The two vanished, and then left the room.

* * *

"Almost here," whispered Lily as she looked at the map. "Just a few more doors down... and this is -"

She looked up into the classroom and broke off. Snape was hanging upside down from the ceiling, unmoving and silent.

"Merlin's beard," she whispered. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," said James. "But let's get him out." He pulled out his wand. "_Alohomora_." Nothing happened.

"Well, that didn't work," said Lily. "Let's try the knife."

James took out the magic knife, and stuck it into the lock. Immediately, the door swung open.

"Cool," they said together as they walked into the room.

* * *

Snape had almost decided he was going to sleep when he heard the door open, and saw Lily Evans and James Potter walk into the room.

"Severus," said Lily. "What happened?"

He couldn't respond. He was frozen and silenced.

"Hold on, Lilsie," James said quietly. "Let's get him down. On three, you do that Cushioning Charm, and I'll let him down. One... two... three."

The two flicked their wands, and Snape landed on the ground, unhurt.

"_Finite Incantatem_," Lily said, waving her wand again. Snape felt his body unfreeze, and he found himself able to talk.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, concern in her almond-shaped eyes.

Snape nodded, still a bit nervous.

"What happened?" James seemed concerned as well, which surprised Snape.

Either way, he had to answer. "Group of Slytherins... they took my wand... used it to get me on the ceiling... and locked me in..."

Two pairs of eyes - Lily's emerald-green ones and James's hazel ones - flashed and filled with fire. They reacted simultaneously.

"_What_?!" was all Lily could get out.

James had more words. "They took your wand?!"

"Yes," Snape said quietly. "I'm not entirely sure where it is."

"Well, that's fixable," James said with a smile. "Lilsie, can you-"

"On it," said Lily. "_Accio Stolen Wand_." Within seconds, the wand flew through the open door and into her hand.

"Is this yours?" she asked, showing Snape the wand. Snape nodded again.

"Okay, good," said James. "Now, you said they used it, right?"

Snape nodded. "Yes, they did, probably not to get caught."

James laughed. "Dumb idea," he said. "It would've been wiser to use their own."

This time, it was Lily and Snape who spoke simultaneously. "What?" they asked together.

"Say all else is equal, but they use their own wands. We come in, get you out, ask you who did it. You accuse someone - we'll call him Joe - and we tell Dumbledore. But it won't get us anywhere."

"Why not?" asked Snape. "Dumbledore can just get... Joe's... wand and use Priori Incantatem."

"He can, but he won't," James said. "Dumbledore is a big believer in this thing that Muggles have in America, the Fourth something-or-other, that says that you need some sort of reason or evidence or something to search someone's property without their permission. That includes wands."

"He would have evidence," argued Lily. "Severus's word."

"That wouldn't be enough," said James, "seeing that this morning, Dumbledore was given reason to believe that Severus's word wasn't trustworthy. I'm not saying you'd lie about who did this to you, Severus, but recent events..."

"I get it," said Snape, his face flushing.

"Point is, if they used their own wands, Dumbledore's moral values would get in the way of their getting caught. But they didn't use their own wands; they used Severus's wand. Which is really helpful for getting them caught."

"How is that any more helpful?" Snape asked. "We'd do Priori Incantatem and it would just show what spells the wand cast. Not the people who cast them."

"That was probably what they thought when they used your wand," James replied. "But they're wrong. If they had paid any attention this morning, they wouldn't have used your wand."

"This morning?" asked Lily. "Wait... Oh, yeah! It would show the whole scene."

"Yep," said James. "These Slytherins just walked into trouble."

"So what now?" asked Snape. "Should we go talk to Dumbledore?"

"I think we should," said Lily. "It's not all that late, and he'd like to know this."

"Wait," said Snape. "What about the out-of-bed rules?"

"I can fix that," said Lily, smiling. "I, Lily Evans, Gryffindor prefect, grant James Potter and Severus Snape permission to be out of bed tonight, in order to report important information to Professor Dumbledore."

"Thank Wizard God you're a prefect, Lilsie," said James. "Now let's go."

"Wait," said Snape. "I want to talk with Lily privately. You go and you show Dumbledore what happened. I give you permission to carry and use my wand."

"Okay," said James. "I'll meet you back here in a little while, all right? I'll send a Patronus."

Lily was a little confused, but she went along with it. "See you later," she said to James as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.


	29. Confrontation (Part One)

Lily and Snape sat in awkward silence, facing one another, both unsure of what to say.

To Lily, the silence seemed to last an eternity, although she knew that wasn't accurate.

It had to have been two eternities. Maybe three.

Finally, Snape spoke.

"Lily, I'm sorry."

Lily sighed. "I knew it would come to this," she said.

"Come to what?"

"We were going to have to talk about it at some point."

"I didn't want it to be an issue forever."

"Neither did I, so I'm glad you brought it up. I didn't want to."

"I figured as much."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Tell me. Tell me everything that happened, and why."

"You already saw it, Lily," Snape said. "This morning."

"I saw what happened. Fine. But why?"

"Why...?"

"Why did you do it? And why did you lie?"

"Lily, I hardly know. I can tell you what I know, but I don't know much."

"A little is better than nothing. Go on."

"Well, you saw what happened with me and Emily. I was going to help her, but then the kids surrounded me. It was peer pressure. It was so stupid."

"General rule of thumb for you: If Slytherins peer-pressure you into doing something, the thing they're getting you to do is almost _always_ stupid. Just saying."

Snape was reminded strongly of James when she said that.

Lily continued, slightly more like herself. "Typical behavior patterns of Slytherin House aside, there's a more important matter: why the _spell_ did you lie?"

He knew why, but he didn't want to say it.

"Severus," she said, with a hint of familiar sweetness lingering in her green eyes. Like grass, blowing in the wind

_So close,_ he thought, _to when she used to call me Sev. So close, so close._

"Severus." It was gone. That trace of the sweetness had vanished, to be replaced by the coldness that used to be aimed at James and his friends but now was aimed at him. Her eyes changed from the soft grass to hard, cold emeralds. Beautiful, priceless... cold.

"Severus, tell me why you lied or else I will put a truth-telling charm on you and _make _you tell." He knew that she wasn't kidding. Lily was a master at truth-telling charms. It was common knowledge.

Who would've thought that such a sweet looking girl would be so... pushy?

Then again... he knew that. He knew exactly who she was, loved her...

And the reason he lied came flooding up into the space just behind his eyes, his nose, his lips... He shut his eyes tight, trying to hold it back... failing to hold it back...

"I lied to you to get you away from James!"


	30. Confrontation (Part Two)

Lily's eyes widened in shock. Her head spun. Every limb shook.

"Y-you lied to get me away from James?" She thought that was what he had said. But she had to make sure.

He looked down. "Yes," he said. "You saw the rest of the letter. You know that all of it was true except... except the part about James and Emily."

"So you thought that _that part_ would get me away from James?"

"It _did_ get you away from him."

Lily sighed. He was right. She _had_ fallen for the lie, and she _did_ leave James.

"You're right. I left him and dated you. But tell the truth: did you really have me? Is that what you wanted?"

Tears filled his eyes. "No," he admitted. "I thought that I could get you to choose me over him."

"What you don't understand," she said, "is that _I don't have feelings for you_. I never did. I wasn't choosing him over you, because there never was a choice to make. I was your friend until you called me a you-know-what, but that was it for me. You never were anything else to me. I never would have dated you, James or no James."

"Fine," he said. "But still, you dated me for a little while; I had you for a few days. If I hadn't ever sent you that letter, it would have done less."

"We could've been friends again," she said. "If you had sent the letter and only included the true part, I would've forgiven you. We could've been friends. Even if we didn't date, we could've been friends."

Snape sighed. She was right.

"So what now?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not dating you. I don't have feelings for you. Never did."

"Can we be friends?"

"Severus," she said. "I don't think I can be friends with someone I can't trust. And I can't trust you."

"So this is it?"

"I think so. I'm sorry," she said.

"Lily," he said, crying. "I don't have anyone. The Slytherins all cast me out; I have nobody."

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "But I can't help you. You did this to yourself."

She realized that what she had said was rather cruel. "Severus. I forgive you for calling me a you-know-what. And I forgive you for what you did to Emily. I just can't be your friend. I'll always remember the friendship we had, but I can't be your friend now. I'm sorry."

He nodded, still crying. "I still love you, Lily," he said.

"I know," she said quietly. "But if you really love me, you have to let me do what I want with my life."

"Okay," he whispered, tears in his eyes, his hands shaking.

Just then, James walked into the room.


	31. Post-Confrontation

"Hey guys," he said. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," said Lily. "Just... finishing things."

"Here's your wand." James held the wand out to Snape, who took it.

"Thank you," he said. He ran out of the room, crying.

Lily sighed. "It's over," she said. She laid her head on a desk.

"Are you alright?" His voice was laced with that sweetness that was only for Lily, his hazel eyes filled with concern. "Lilsie, are you alright?"

"I suppose so," she said quietly, not lifting her head.

"We should go to bed," said James. "You look tired." He gently ran his fingers through her hair.

She didn't respond.

"Lilsie?" he asked. Still no response. "Lilsie, what's going on?" He pulled her hair back to find her sleeping peacefully.

_Should I wake her up?_ he wondered. He considered his options for a few seconds, and then decided what to do.

He scooped her up, pulled the Invisibility Cloak over them both, and carried her all the way back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

It wasn't exactly easy, carrying Lily up three flights of stairs, but he didn't give up and use magic to carry her. He wanted to hold her in his arms for as long as he could. He knew that the minute she woke up, he would have to put her down.

As they neared the Fat Lady, he pulled the Cloak off of himself and Lily. He could hear voices inside. Probably the Marauders, waiting for him.

The Fat Lady was sleeping, despite the noise, but James woke her up by tapping with his finger.

"What do you want?" she asked grumpily.

"Super omnia," he said.

"Well, it's not the latest you've been out," she said as the door swung open.

He could see Moony, Wormtail, and Padfoot, all chatting loudly. They hadn't noticed him yet.

Not wanting to wake Lily, he put a Silencing Charm on all of his friends as he walked into the room.

"Lilsie's sleeping," he said quietly as they silently protested. He walked over to a couch, and tried to place her down.

But before he could, she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her head into his shoulder. He grinned a little bit.

He sat down on the couch with Lily in his arms. _She's so beautiful_, he thought. And she was, with her red hair shimmering softly in the firelight, her face relaxed. She was still in her clothes, he noticed. A silvery-blue T-shirt, and her favorite pair of jeans.

He couldn't resist. He kissed her forehead, very, very gently.

Oops. Not gentle enough. Her eyes opened.

James hoped she didn't know what had happened, but one look into her emerald-green eyes and he realized he was screwed.

She smiled a little bit. "I was wondering when you would do that," she whispered.

"Ready for bed?" he asked.

"I guess so," she said quietly. "But... I kinda like it here on the couch."

James grinned broadly. "Really? I find the beds quite comfortable."

"Yes," she said, "but there aren't human pillows in the dorms." To emphasize her point, she laid her head on James's shoulder, sighing deeply to show how comfortable she was.

"Well, first thing's first," he said. "_Geminio Vestis_." Lily's outfit duplicated itself. The new clothes landed next to James on the couch.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, lifting her head.

He flicked his wand again. The clothes on Lily's body turned into pajamas.

"Oh," she said, realizing the answer to her own question.

"There," he said. "Makes your life easier."

"Thanks," she said quietly. She laid her head on his shoulder again.

"Lilsie, you're torturing me," said James.

Lily raised her head, giving James a quizzical look. "How so?"

"Well, you agreed to my plan re: waiting to date until next year. But here you are, on my lap, with your head on my shoulder. And I don't know whether that means you want to date me now or not. Like, that's what you do when you're dating, right? But we're not. And you're still doing it."

"And that's torture because...?"

"This is what I'm going through right now. Lily Evans, love of my life, is sitting on my lap, and her head is on my shoulder. She didn't get mad when I kissed her forehead. And she's been flirting with me. But we're not dating. It's almost like you're dangling over my head, but I can't reach you. And it _sucks_, Lilsie."

"I'm sorry." Lily seemed genuinely sorry. "I can stop, if you want." She attempted to get up from James's lap.

So much for genuinely sorry.

James wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down. "No, you can stay. I don't mind."

"Thought so," said Lily. She laid her head back down.

"Anyway," said James. "Are you going to go to bed?"

"I don't want to," she said. "I'm tired, but I really don't want to... to..."

"To what?" James asked. He tried to look innocent, but he couldn't. He wanted her to say something, and she knew it.

Lily sighed. "Fine," she said. "I don't want to leave you."

James grinned at the admission, and then he had an idea. "You don't have to, Lilsie," he said gently. "At least, you don't have to know that you did."

"What?" she asked.

"If you do that spell that freezes the stairs, I can take you to your room. I'll stay with you for a little while, and then, once you're asleep, I'll leave."

She nodded. "I like that plan, but there's one problem."

"What?"

"Grace is a light sleeper, and so is Mary. If they wake up and see you, we're screwed."

"Seriously? That's your problem?" He held up his Cloak. "Problem solved."

"Right," said Lily, mentally slapping herself.

"Well, let's go."

Lily didn't get up. Instead, she laid back down into James's arms. "I don't even want to get up," she said. "Too tired. And lazy."

"Yeah, right," said James. "Tired and lazy." He held her closer. "It's okay. We can stay a little longer." He kissed her forehead again.

"James?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yes?"

"I was hoping you'd do that." And before James could react, she had wrapped her arms around James's neck, kissing him.

He was shocked, but that didn't stop him from kissing her back.

The kiss was shorter than their first one, by a lot, but it was a better kiss somehow.

After they broke apart, Lily looked directly at James, her green eyes piercing his hazel ones.

"James Potter," she said. "I can't hold it in any longer. I feel the same way about you as you do about me. And I have since the sleeping potion face-plant."

James's eyes widened, and then he smiled.

She continued. "I don't want to wait until next year."

"Neither do I," he said. He stroked her hair gently.

She laid her head back on his shoulder.

"I love you, Lilsie," he said quietly.

She didn't respond, for she had fallen asleep again.


	32. Invitation

**AN: This chapter takes place a week after the last chapter. JSYK.**

* * *

"Excuse me, ladies, but may I please borrow Lily for a moment?"

Mary, Alana, and Katherine all giggled.

"Go ahead, James," said Grace. "That is, assuming Lily... wants to be borrowed."

All five girls laughed at this.

"I don't like being talked about as if I'm your property," said Lily. "That goes for all five of you. But if James would like to _talk_ to me, I'll talk to him."

"I would like to talk to you, as a matter of fact," James replied. "So may I?"

"You may," said Lily. "What's up?"

"I was thinking... D'you think you might be interested in staying with me and my parents this summer?"

"Stay at your house?"

"Yeah. You don't have to come for the whole summer or anything, but I'd love to have you over for like a few weeks or something."

"That's really nice of you, James," she said, smiling. "I'll think about it."

"It won't be just us, just so you know," said James. "Padfoot's coming, too. He always does."

"Wait... Your mom'll be okay with the two of you _and _me in the house?"

"It's fine. We have plenty of room, and it's not like you're any trouble. Mom'll probably be glad that there'll be a responsible person in the house to keep us two in check."

Lily laughed. "Oh, like I've ever been able to keep you two out of trouble. But I'd love to come, James. I'll write to my mom right now."

"Y'know, Lilsie," James said. "You're technically an adult; you turned seventeen in January. You don't really _have _to ask permission."

"I'm an adult in the Wizarding world, but in the Muggle world, you come of age at eighteen. And Mom knows that I'm an adult now, but still, she thinks of me as a child. Besides, I don't want her to be alone this summer."

"She won't be alone, will she? What about your sister?"

"Petunia's probably spending the summer with her boyfriend. Mom and I both hate him."

"Remind me, what's the guy's name?"

"Vernon Dursley. Probably the worst name ever."

"That _is _a terrible name," said James, chuckling. "If I were that guy, I would not be happy."

"You're lucky," said Lily, grinning. "James Potter isn't too bad of a name. In fact, it's a pretty good one."

"I do like my name," James replied. "However, as far as names go, Lily Evans is by far the best."

James noticed a mischievous twinkle in Lily's emerald eyes.

"I know a better one," she said in a singsong voice.

"Oh, yeah? Do tell."

Lily grabbed his hand and pulled him into a corner. "It's a secret," she said. She leaned in close.

_"How about Lily Potter?"_ she whispered into his ear.

James burst out laughing, causing many people to look at him funny.

"You got me there, Lilsie," he said. "I wish!"

"I know," Lily laughed. "Now, back on topic. Petunia won't be around, so Mom'll be lonely if I don't come home."

"Right," said James. "So you should write her. I hope she says yes!"

"She probably will," said Lily. "I'm not sure how I know that. I have a gut feeling, I guess. But somehow I think she'll say yes."

"Well, the sooner you write, the sooner we'll know. So write!"

"Okay, okay!" Lily pulled out her parchment and a quill, and began to write.


End file.
